Register immediate FIRs in child trafficking cases without preliminary probe: Supreme Court
Under the existing guidelines, a missing child case is transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) only if the child remains untraced for four months.
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On Friday, May 23, the Supreme Court issued a series of directions aimed at strengthening the system for tracing missing children and curbing child trafficking across the country. A bench comprising Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan directed that whenever police receive information about a missing person, they must immediately register an FIR without conducting a preliminary inquiry or waiting for the victim’s guardians to file a complaint.
“The more I read about it, the more I realise how unaware I was of the ground reality. This is a massive issue. The scale of the problem is enormous, yet its seriousness is not being fully recognised,” the Court observed.
The case originated from a petition filed by G Ganesh after his minor daughter went missing from Chennai in 2011. An FIR was registered, and several agencies investigated the matter, but the child could not be traced, following which the police closed the case as “undetectable.”
After the Madras High Court refused to intervene in the closure report, the matter was taken to the Supreme Court. Concerned by the broader systemic failures highlighted by the case, the Supreme Court later expanded the proceedings suo motu to examine the nationwide issue of missing children and child trafficking.
"The FIRs must mandatorily invoke relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to kidnapping and abduction of children. Further, the police should transfer such a case to the Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU) without waiting for the conclusion of the 4 months under the existing guidelines," the Bench added.
Under the existing guidelines, a missing child case is transferred to the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) only if the child remains untraced for four months. However, the Supreme Court said that if the investigating agency or police have sufficient reason to believe that a case involves trafficking, the matter must be immediately handed over to specialised units dealing with human trafficking, kidnapping, and abduction, without waiting for the four-month period to lapse.
The Court also directed the Ministry of Home Affairs to establish a nationwide police grid along with a dedicated portal for cases related to human trafficking, missing children, and missing women. The bench issued these directions while expressing deep concern over the growing gap between the number of children reported missing and those eventually traced.
Register FIRs immediately in child trafficking cases without preliminary probe, set up nationwide police grid: Supreme Court
— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) May 23, 2026
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“The more I read about it, the more I realise how unaware I was of the ground reality. This is a massive issue. The scale of the problem is enormous, yet its seriousness is not being fully recognised,” the Court observed.
“The moment the child is recovered, it shall, without any loss of time, be ensured that the person recovered is restored to the family,” the Court directed. However, the bench clarified that children should not be restored to families where the guardians themselves are found to have played a role in trafficking.
The case originated from a petition filed by G Ganesh after his minor daughter went missing from Chennai in 2011. An FIR was registered, and several agencies investigated the matter, but the child could not be traced, following which the police closed the case as “undetectable.”
After the Madras High Court refused to intervene in the closure report, the matter was taken to the Supreme Court. Concerned by the broader systemic failures highlighted by the case, the Supreme Court later expanded the proceedings suo motu to examine the nationwide issue of missing children and child trafficking.