The Supreme Court on Friday (May 22, 2026) directed police authorities across the country to immediately register FIRs in all missing persons cases and ordered that Anti-Human Trafficking Units be made fully functional within four weeks.

A Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan observed that the rising number of missing children cases could be attributed to “gaps” in coordination among various agencies, and pointed out that many such children fall prey to organised inter-State trafficking syndicates.

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“The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, is directed to put in place an all-India grid connecting every police station in the country on one platform, which will have a special portal dedicated to human trafficking, including missing children and women,” the Bench ordered.

Police stations were directed to immediately register FIRs, incorporating offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, relating to kidnapping and trafficking, the moment information regarding a missing person is received, without waiting for a preliminary inquiry or leaving it to the guardians of the missing person.

The Bench directed authorities to proceed on the presumption of kidnapping or abduction from the outset whenever a child goes missing. It further ordered that all necessary steps be taken to ensure that recovered children are restored to their families within 24 hours.

“...(I)t has to be ensured that the person recovered is restored to his/her family. We direct that procedure and formality shall not be a ground in defence if it is brought to the notice of this court that there has been an inordinate delay in the restoration of a missing person to her/his family after due verification that the person being restored is rightfully being restored,” the court ordered.

The court, however, cautioned that such restoration should not be undertaken mechanically in cases involving human trafficking where the guardians or family members are found to have played a contributory role in the trafficking of the child or victim. In such cases, the immediate responsibility for the child’s care and protection would vest with State authorities, including the Child Welfare Committees, it said.

Aadhaar verification

To ensure traceability and facilitate the identification of victims’ families, the court also directed authorities to ensure that the moment any person is found or rescued, he or she is taken for Aadhaar verification or issuance of an Aadhaar card.

“...(W)e endorse and also direct that the moment any person is recovered or rescued, he or she will be taken for Aadhaar verification/making of an Aadhaar card. This direction is being issued in view of the fact that for the purposes of procuring Aadhaar, fingerprints and other biometrics are taken, and the moment an attempt is made by the same person to obtain another Aadhaar card, it would be displayed whether that person has an Aadhaar card, and that would facilitate restoration,” the Bench said.

To facilitate the process, the court directed the Union government to upload Aadhaar and biometric details on the Mission Vatsalya portal operated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

“We also make it clear that all agencies, including District Legal Services Authorities and similar institutions, should fully cooperate with the authorities concerned in this exercise,” the Bench said.

Accordingly, the Bench posted the matter for further hearing in August to review compliance with its directions.

The top court passed the directions in a petition that had been moved by the father of a child who went missing from Chennai on September 19, 2011. Subsequently, the court had expanded the scope of the petition on March 19 and constituted a three-member committee to develop a Standard Operating Procedure to be implemented across India for dealing with cases of human trafficking, including child trafficking.

The committee comprises P.M. Nair, former IPS officer and DG, NDRF; Veerendra Kumar Mishra, IPS, Director, Ministry of Home Affairs; and S.D. Sanjay, Additional Solicitor General.