Supreme Court Directive on Missing Children Data
On December 9, 2025, the Supreme Court mandated the Union Government to provide six years of comprehensive nationwide data concerning missing children. This directive arose during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by the Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan, a non-profit organization.
Court's Observations and Orders
- The Supreme Court observed that the Ministry of Home Affairs had not appointed a dedicated officer as the Central coordinating agency for cases of missing children.
- Directed the Home Ministry to appoint a dedicated nodal officer within two weeks and update their details on the Mission Vatsalya portal.
- Previously, the Court instructed all States and Union Territories to appoint officers for similar purposes and upload details on the Mission Vatsalya portal managed by the Women and Child Development Ministry.
Data on Missing Children
- Additional Solicitor-General Aishwarya Bhati stressed the importance of effective information dissemination and coordination among stakeholders using the Mission Vatsalya portal.
- Senior advocate Aparna Bhat, acting as amicus curiae, emphasized the necessity of comprehensive data on investigations, including statistics on the number of children traced and returned to their families, to combat child trafficking.
Coordinated Efforts and Consultation
- The Court directed the soon-to-be-appointed Nodal Officer to collaborate with Nodal Officers from all States and Union Territories to update statistics on missing children from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2025.
- Information from the Director of Prosecution in each State/Union Territory regarding prosecutions of missing children cases must also be compiled.
Implementation and Response
- The entire data compilation exercise is to be completed within six weeks following the appointment of the Home Ministry's Nodal Officer.
- The Department of Women and Child Development, represented by its Principal Secretary, was made a respondent in the proceedings.
- The Supreme Court will continue to review the progress of this matter on February 10, 2026.
