In a petition filed by Bachpan
Bachao Andolan (BBA) Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s). 75/2012
, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India passed a landmark
judgment on the issue of missing children.
The bench headed by Hon’ble Chief
Justice of India Mr. Justice Altamas Kabir comprising of Hon'ble Mr. Justice
Vikramajit Sen and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde has taken the issue
of missing children very seriously in the light of the facts presented before
it by Bachpan Bachao Andolan.
The Hon’ble Court took into cognizance
that in 2011 alone 90,654 children went missing with 34,406 children still
remaining untraced. However only 15,284 FIRs were registered and investigations
were launched.
Guidelines of Supreme Court
1 Compulsory registration of cases
by police of missing children with the assumption that they are victims of
kidnapping & trafficking.
2 Compulsory registration of cases
by police of all those children who are still untraced (in 2011 34,406 children
are still untraced).
3 Police will prepare standard
operating procedures in all the states to deal with the cases of missing
children.
4 Appointment and training of
Special Child Welfare officers in every police station to deal with the cases
of missing children.
5 Police will maintain records of
recovered children along with photographs and Ministry of Home Affairs to
facilitate the maintenance of records of missing children.
ADVISORY OF GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO STATES
No.
24013/62/2012 – SC/ST–W
Government
of India
Ministry
of Home Affairs
Centre
State Division ******
5th Floor, NDCC-II Building
Jai
Singh road, New Delhi
Dated
the 25th June, 2013
To The Additional
Chief Secretary/ Principal Secretary (Home)
Sub
: Advisory on Hon’ble Supreme Court’s direction to file FIR in case of Missing
Children
Sir/Ma’am,
Hon’ble Supreme Court
while hearing a Writ Petition (Civil) no. 75 of 2012, on 10.05.2013, Bachpan
Bachao Andolan vs Union of India has directed the following :
(i) In case of
complaint with regard to any missing children; made in a police station, the
same should be reduced into a First Information Report and appropriate steps
should be taken to see that follow up investigation is taken up immediately
thereafter.
(ii)In case of every
missing child reported; there will be an initial presumption of either
abduction or trafficking, unless, in the investigation, the same is proved
otherwise.
(iii) Whenever any
complaint is filed before the police authorities regarding a missing child, the
same must be entertained under Section 154 Cr.P.C. However, even in respect of
complaints made otherwise with regard to a child, which may come within the
scope of Section 155 Cr.P.C., upon making an entry in the Book to be maintained
for the purposes of Section 155 Cr.P.C., and after referring the information to
the Magistrate concerned, continue with the inquiry into the complaint.
(iv) The Magistrate,
upon receipt of the information recorded under Section 155 Cr.P.C., shall
proceed, in the meantime, to take appropriate action under sub- section (2),
especially, if the complaint relates to a child and, in particular, a girl
child.
(v) Each police
station should have, at least, one Police Officer, especially instructed and
trained and designated as a Juvenile Welfare Officer in terms of Section 63 of
the Juvenile Act. Special Juvenile Officer on duty in the police station should
be present in shifts.
(vi) Para-legal
volunteers, who have been recruited by the Legal Services Authorities, should
be utilized, so that there is, at least, one paralegal volunteer, in shifts, in
the police station to keep a watch over the manner in which the complaints
regarding missing children and other offences against children are dealt with.
(vii) The State Legal
Services Authorities should also work out a network of NGOs, whose services
could also be availed of at all levels for the purpose of tracing and
reintegrating missing children with their families which, in fact, should be
the prime object, when a missing child is recovered.
(viii) Every
found/recovered child must be immediately photographed by the police for
purposes of advertisement and to make his relatives / guardians aware of the
child having been recovered / found .
(ix) Photographs of
the recovered child should be published on the website and through the
newspapers and even on the T.V. so that the parents of the missing child could
locate their missing child and recover him or her from the custody of the
police.
(x) Standard
Operating Procedure must be laid down to handle the cases of missing children
and to invoke appropriate provisions of law where trafficking, child labour,
abduction, exploitation and similar issues are disclosed during investigation
or after the recovery of the child, when the information suggests the
commission of such offences.
(xi) A protocol should
be established by the local police with the High Courts and also with the State
Legal Services Authorities for monitoring the case of a missing child.
(xii) Definition of
Missing Children : Missing child has been defined as a person below eighteen
years of age, whose whereabouts are not known to the parents, legal guardians
and any other person who may be legally entrusted with the custody of the
child, whatever may be the circumstances/causes of disappearance. The child
will be considered missing and in need of care and protection within the
meaning of the later part of the Juvenile Act, until located and/or his/her
safety/well being is established.
(xiii) In case a
missing child is not recovered within four months from the date of filing of
the First Information Report, the matter may be forwarded to the Anti-Human
Trafficking Unit in each State in order to enable the said Unit to take up more
intensive investigation regarding the missing child.
(xiv) The Anti-Human
Trafficking Unit shall file periodical status reports after every three months
to keep the Legal Services Authorities updated.
(xv) In cases where
First Information Reports have not been lodged at all and the child is still
missing, an F.I.R. should be lodged within a month from the date of communication
of this Order and further investigation may proceed on that basis.
(xvi) Once a child is
recovered, the police authorities shall carry out further investigation to see
whether there is an involvement of any trafficking in the procedure by which
the child went missing and if, on investigation, such links are found, the
police shall take appropriate action thereupon
(xvii) The State
authorities shall arrange for adequate Shelter Homes to be provided for missing
children, who are recovered and do not have any place to go to. Such Shelter
Homes or After-care Homes will have to be set up by the State Government
concerned and funds to run the same will also have to be provided by the State
Government together with proper infrastructure. Such Homes should be put in
place within three months, at the latest. Any private Home, being run for the
purpose of sheltering children, shall not be entitled to receive a child,
unless forwarded by the Child Welfare Committee and unless they comply with all
the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, including registration.
It is requested that
the above directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court may be adhered to in letter
and spirit and implementation at the ground level may closely the monitored to
eradicate any loophole within the system.
Dr. (Smt) Praveen
Kumari Singh
Director (SR)
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