The Supreme Court of India has directed all police stations across the country to register a First Information Report (FIR) immediately in every case involving a missing child or missing person. The order was issued on 22 May 2026 by a bench comprising Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice R. Mahadevan.
The Court stated that in cases of missing children, police must presume the possibility of kidnapping or abduction from the very beginning and register FIRs without conducting any preliminary inquiry. The FIRs must include relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the Indian Penal Code in India.
Highlighting the seriousness of the issue, the Court referred to the large number of untraced children in the country and stressed the need for urgent and coordinated police action. The ruling also strengthens the role of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs), directing all such units across India to become fully functional within four weeks.
The Court further instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs to establish a nationwide data grid connecting every police station through a dedicated portal for cases related to human trafficking, missing children, and missing women. This integrated system is expected to improve coordination, tracking, and rescue operations across states.
In another important direction, the Court constituted a committee headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice Mukta Gupta to prepare a pan-India Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for handling missing child cases. The Court also ordered Aadhaar verification or Aadhaar card issuance for recovered children and persons to ensure proper identification and rehabilitation.
The judgment is considered a major step toward strengthening child protection, anti-trafficking efforts, and police accountability under India’s criminal justice system.
