The Supreme Court has urged the Union government to consider setting up a dedicated online portal under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for tracing missing children and investigating related cases. The Court highlighted that the move is necessary to tackle the “serious lack of coordination” among state and Union Territory police forces handling such sensitive complaints.
A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan observed that, despite existing mechanisms like the Khoya/Paya portal, systemic shortcomings still hinder effective investigation and follow-up. The judges recommended that the proposed portal should appoint nodal officers from every state, tasked with registering and monitoring missing children cases while ensuring smooth sharing of information across jurisdictions.
“The issue calls for a coordinated effort. A dedicated online platform will ensure complaints are addressed in real time and tracked properly,” the bench noted. The Court also directed Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Union government, to seek instructions on the feasibility of such a platform.
The matter was brought to the Court’s attention through a petition filed by Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan, an NGO that exposed widespread lapses in investigating abduction and trafficking cases. The NGO cited five cases from Uttar Pradesh in which minors were allegedly trafficked by organised networks to states like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, stressing that despite information being available, timely action was missing.
Earlier, the Court had directed the Union government to remind states and UTs to furnish updated data on missing children. Emphasizing that protecting children from trafficking and exploitation is a constitutional duty, the bench stated that institutional weaknesses cannot be allowed to obstruct justice.
The matter will now be heard again once the Union government presents its response on creating such a platform.