NEW DELHI, Aug 11: The Supreme Court has clarified that its direction to States and Union Territories to immediately register FIRs in cases of missing persons applies to everyone, irrespective of age or gender.
A bench comprising Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan expressed shock over the interpretation by some States that the term “person” in its earlier order referred only to children.
The bench said the language of its earlier order was “clear and unambiguous” and that “person” means every individual, regardless of age or gender.
The court warned that States and UTs failing to comply with the direction could face contempt proceedings. It directed the concerned Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police to appear personally and submit show-cause affidavits explaining their failure to comply.
The matter has been posted for hearing on October 5.
On May 22, the Supreme Court had directed police authorities across the country to immediately register FIRs whenever a person is reported missing, without waiting for a preliminary inquiry.
The court noted that around 47,000 children remained untraced in India and directed authorities to make anti-human trafficking units fully functional within four weeks.
It also directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to establish an all-India police network with a dedicated portal for cases involving human trafficking, missing children and women.
The court said missing children should initially be treated as potential cases of kidnapping or abduction to ensure prompt and serious investigation.
It further directed that rescued children should ordinarily be reunited with their families within 24 hours, unless there is evidence of family involvement in trafficking or exploitation.
The directions were issued in a petition filed by G Ganesh before the Madras High Court after his daughter went missing from Chennai on September 19, 2011.
