सुप्रीम कोर्ट का बड़ा निर्देश: हर लापता व्यक्ति की तुरंत FIR दर्ज करनी होगी
नई दिल्ली, 12 अगस्त 2026। सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने स्पष्ट किया है कि किसी भी व्यक्ति के लापता होने की सूचना मिलने पर पुलिस को तत्काल FIR दर्ज करनी होगी, चाहे लापता व्यक्ति बच्चा हो या वयस्क, पुरुष हो या महिला। अदालत ने राज्यों और केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों को अपने पहले के निर्देश का पूरी तरह पालन करने को कहा है।
ITEM NO.56 COURT NO.12 SECTION II-C
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
PETITION FOR SPECIAL LEAVE TO APPEAL (CRL.) NO.11263/2025
[Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 05-03-2025
in CRLRC No.373/2025 passed by the High Court of Judicature at
Madras]
G. GANESH PETITIONER(S)
VERSUS
STATE OF TAMIL NADU & ORS. RESPONDENT(S)
IA No.180112/2025 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED
JUDGMENTIA No.180113/2025 – EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T. IA No.72070/2026 – INTERVENTION/IMPLEADMENT IA No.88992/2026 – PERMISSION TO FILE ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS/FACTS/ANNEXURES Date : 22-05-2026 This matter was called for hearing today. CORAM :
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE AHSANUDDIN AMANULLAH HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE R. MAHADEVAN COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Ms. Mukta Gupta, Sr. Adv. Mr. S.D. Sanjay, ASG Mr. H.S. Phoolka, Sr. Adv. Dr. P.M. Nair, IPS (Retd.) AOR for Committee Mr. Anuj P. Agarwala, Adv.
Ms. Nitya Gupta, Adv.
Mr. Akshat Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Divyam Agarwal, Adv.
For Petitioner(s) :Ms. Aarthi Rajan, AoR Mr. Arvind Srevatsa, Adv. Mr. S. Santanam Swaminadhan, Adv.
Ms. Abhilasha Shrawat, Adv. Mr. Kartik Malhotra, Adv. Mr. Aman Rawat, Adv.
For Respondent(s) :Mr. Sabarish Subramanian, AoR Ms. Prerna Singh, Adv. Mr. Guntur Pramod Kumar, AoR Mr. Dhruv Yadav, Adv.
Ms. Vanshika Singh, Adv.
Ms. Disha Singh, AoR Ms. Eliza Barr, Adv.
Ms. Akansha, Adv.
Ms. Anjali Saxena, Adv.
Mr. Ankit Roy, AoR Ms. Mrinalini Ramesh, Adv.
Mr. Manish Kumar, AoR Mr. Divyansh Mishra, Adv. Mr. Kumar Saurav, Adv.
Mr. Vikrant Singh Bais, DAG Mr. Vinayak Sharma, Standing Counsel, Adv. Mr. Ravinder Kumar Yadav, AoR Mr. Yashwardhan Shah, Adv. Ms. Kritika Yadav, Adv.
Mr. Subodh S. Patil, AoR Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, AoR Ms. Neha Singh, Adv.
Ms. Apoorva Anand, Adv.
Mr. Shekhar Raj Sharma, AAG Mr. Samar Vijay Singh, AoR Ms. Nidhi Narwal, Adv. Mr. Aman Dev Sharma, Adv. Ms. Sabarni Som, Adv.
Ms. Srishti Jain, Adv. Ms. Rekha, Adv.
Ms. Neeta Verma, Adv.
Mr. Tanuj Dixit, Adv.
Ms. Reba Jena Mishra, Adv.
Mr. Anukirat Singh Baweja, Adv. Ms. Rashi Agnihotry, Adv. Mr. Anukirat Singh, Adv.
Mr. Sankalp Malik, Adv. Mr. Ayush Panwar, Adv. Ms. Neelam Singh, AoR Mr. Bhupender Yadav, Adv. Mr. Sameer Singh, Adv. Mr. Swagat Nanda, Adv.
Mr. Rajiv Shankar Dwivedi, Adv. Ms. Pallavi Langar, AoR Mr. Sujeet Kumar Chaubey, Adv. Ms. Anushka Raghunath, Adv.
Mr. Naveen Sharma, AoR Mrs. Swati Bhushan Sharma, Adv. Mr. S.k. Sharma, Adv.
Ms. Payal Gola, Adv.
Mr. Harshad V. Hameed, AoR Mr. Dileep Poolakkot, Adv. Mrs. Ashly Harshad, Adv. Mr. Anukirat Singh Baweja, Adv. Mr. Muhammed Siddick, Adv. Ms. Rashi Agnihotry, Adv. Mr. Mahabir Singh, Adv.
Ms. Manisha T. Karia, AAG Mr. Sarthak Raizada Ga, Adv. Mr. Harmeet Singh Ruprah, AoR Mr. Karan Singh, Adv.
Mr. Aaditya Aniruddha Pande, AoR Mr. Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Adv. Mr. Shrirang B. Varma, Adv. Mr. Bharat Bagla, Adv. Mr. Sourav Singh, Adv. Ms. Chitransha Singh Sikarwar, Adv.
Mr. Lenin Singh Hijam, Adv. General, Sr. Adv. Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AoR Mr. Karun Shamra, Adv. Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv. Ms. Rajkumari Divyasana, Adv.
Mr. Amit Kumar Sr. Adv., Advocate General Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AoR Mr. T.K. Nayak, Adv.
Mr. Z H Isaac Haiding, Adv. Ms. Marbiang Khongwir, Adv. Mr. Aditya Kumar, Adv.
Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, AoR Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv. Ms. Chubalemla Chang, Adv. Mr. Prang Newmai, Adv. Ms. Yanmi Phazang, Adv.
Mr. Himanshu Shekhar Tripathi, AoR Mr. Anshuman Dwivedi, Adv.
Mr. Maninder Singh Bedi, Adv. Gen. Mr. Rajat Bhardwaj, AAG Mr. Karan Sharma, AoR Mr. Shiv Mangal Sharma, AAG Mr. Saurabh Rajpal, Adv. Mr. Jayant Singh Chauhan, Adv. Ms. Nidhi Jaswal, AoR Mr. Sameer Abhyankar, AoR Ms. Yachna Sharma, Adv. Ms. Arushi Chopra, Adv.
Ms. Devina Sehgal, AoR Mr. Yatharth Kansal, Adv.
Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AoR Mr. Saurabh Tripathi, Adv. Mr. Deepayan Dutta, Adv.
Ms. Ruchira Goel, AoR Mr. Sudarshan Singh Rawat, AoR Mr. Kunal Mimani, AoR Ms. Shraddha Chirania, Adv.
Mr. S.D. Sanjay, ASG Mr. Divyam Aggarwal, Adv. Mr. Mukesh Kr. Verma, Adv. Ms. Indira Bhakar, Adv. Mr. Shashwat Parihar, Adv. Mr. Bhuvan Kapoor, Adv. Mr. Varun Chugh, Adv.
Mr. Yogesh Vats, Adv.
Mr. Shreekant Neelappa Terdal, AoR Mr. Satya Darshi Sanjay, ASG Ms. Disha Thakkar, Adv. Mr. Akshat Agrawal, Adv.
Mr. Khushal Kolwar, Adv. Mr. Shubham Prakash Mishra, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma,AoR, Adv.
Mr. Aravindh S., AoR Ms. Anika Bansal, Adv.
Mr. H.S. Phoolka, Sr. Adv. Mr. Bhuwan Ribhu, Adv. Ms. Prabhsahay Kaur, Adv. Ms. Rachna Tyagi, Adv. Mr. Saksham Maheshwari, AoR Ms. Shashi, Adv.
Ms. Taruna Panwar, Adv. Ms. Surabhi Katyal, Adv. Ms. Surpreet Kaur, Adv. Mr. Kartik Goyal, Adv.
O R D E R Heard Mr. S.D. Sanjay, learned Additional Solicitor General (ASG), Convenor and Coordinator of the Committee constituted by this Court, Ms. Mukta Gupta, learned Senior Advocate, Mr. H.S. Phoolka, learned Senior Advocate and Dr.P.M. Nair, former IPS Officer.
- Having regard to the fact that Ms. Aparna Bhat, learned Senior Counsel who is active in the field of issues relating to human trafficking, we add her as a Member of the team constituted by this Court. She is also present in Court and the Court has interacted with her.
- We have been apprised that the Committee has already met five times and certain specific proposals have been deliberated and the same have been disclosed in the status report filed by Mr. S.D. Sanjay, learned ASG, enclosing the minutes of all the five meetings. The same is taken on record.
- Having discussed the matter at length, for the present, the following directions are issued:
(i) The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India is directed to set into place an all India grid connecting each and every police station in the country on one platform, which shall have a special portal dedicated to human trafficking, including missing children and women. At this stage, a suggestion has come that the portal would be more meaningful if linked with the portal of Mission Vatsalya and the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network System (CCTNS). We find the suggestion to be useful. Accordingly, a direction is issued to come up with a module integrating all the three portals together.
(ii) All Police Stations are directed to immediately register an FIR the moment any information reaches them with regard to any person missing, without waiting for any preliminary enquiry or leaving it to the guardians or family members of the missing person to first search for him/her. We add a note of caution that if the missing person is restored to his/her family within 24 hours, the head of the police force of the concerned district shall not forward a copy of the FIR to the jurisdictional Court, and the matter may stand closed at that level itself. However, this shall not mean that the police machinery would remain inactive. On the contrary, the police machinery shall be activated immediately, at its highest level, for tracing and locating the missing person, as such prompt action is worth the exercise even if the person is traced or returns within 24 hours, rather than waiting for the expiry of 24 hours before initiating action, by which time, it may already be too late. Needless to overemphasise, the initial few hours from the time any person goes missing are the “golden hours” during which the chances of safe recovery are at their maximum.
(iii) The FIR so registered shall mandatorily incorporate the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and any other applicable statutory provisions relating to kidnapping, abduction or trafficking of a person or child.
(iv) Immediately upon the investigating agency/police having sufficient reason to believe that the case relates to trafficking, and without waiting for the expiry of the four months’ period, the matter shall be transferred to the specialised unit, if constituted in the area, dealing with offences relating to human trafficking, kidnapping, abduction and allied offences.
(v) At his juncture, Dr. P.M. Nair has informed the Court that Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) have been constituted on paper throughout the country, but many of them are either non-functional on the ground or lack adequate powers, manpower and resources to effectively deal with such offences. Taking note of the seriousness and urgency of the matter, a mandamus is issued to the Union of India as well as to all States and Union Territories (UTs), through their respective Home Secretaries and Directors General of Police, to ensure that all AHTUs are made fully functional and operational within four weeks from today.
(vi) Learned counsel appearing for the States/UTs shall communicate the present order to the concerned authorities for strict and immediate implementation.
(vii) The moment any person, including a child, is recovered, it shall be ensured without any delay that the person is restored to his / her family in accordance with law, subject to due verification that the person is being restored to the rightful guardian. Procedural formalities shall not be pleaded as a defence in the event of inordinate delay in restoration. However, in cases where it is found that the victim was trafficked with the involvement or connivance of the family or guardians, the victim shall not be restored to such family and immediate responsibility for care and protection shall vest in the State authorities, including the Child Welfare Committees (CWCs).
(viii) We endorse and direct that the moment any missing person is recovered or rescued, he or she shall immediately be taken for Aadhaar verification or for issuance of an Aadhaar Card, as the case may be. This direction is being issued in view of the fact that for the purpose of procuring an Aadhaar Card, finger prints and other biometric details are captured, and the moment any attempt is made by the same person to obtain another Aadhaar Card, the system would reveal whether such person already possesses one, thereby greatly facilitating identification and restoration of the person to his or her family. The verification of the Aadhaar Card may be carried out by any readily available authorised agency so as to avoid any delay or loss of valuable time.
(ix) The concerned District Child Protection Units (DCPUs) where the person is found or rescued, shall discharge their statutory obligations with due diligence and utmost priority. The Juvenile Justice Committees of the High Courts are requested to monitor compliance in this regard. We also direct that all agencies, including the District Legal Services Authorities and similar institutions, shall fully cooperate and coordinate with the concerned authorities in this exercise.
(x) We further endorse and direct the authorities concerned to examine the feasibility of issuing Aadhaar Cards at the place of birth itself, subject to voluntary consent of the parents/ guardians.
- Before concluding, we deem it appropriate to address an issue highlighted by the learned ASG concerning the appointment and functioning of Nodal Officers by the States and UTs pursuant to earlier orders of this Court. It has been brought to our notice that Nodal Officers are often appointed in a casual manner and on several occasions, they do not even attend the conferences or meetings convened in connection with the present proceedings, nor do they respond appropriately. It has further been noticed that they frequently depute subordinate officers to represent them at such meetings or conferences. In many instances, Nodal Officers have also been changed at very short intervals, thereby affecting continuity and effective coordination.
- Keeping the aforesaid concerns in mind, we direct all the Home Secretaries and Directors General of Police of the respective States and UTs to designate, for the present Committee, a Nodal Officer of proven integrity and competence, preferably possessing experience in matters of this nature. The said Nodal Officer shall be duty-bound to promptly respond to and extend all assistance sought in relation to the functioning of the Committee. Under no circumstances shall such officer delegate or pass on the said responsibility to any colleague or junior officer. The Nodal Officer shall further ensure that all steps taken, reports generated, or suggestions made by their respective States or UTs in relation to the issues pending before this Court are promptly communicated to Mr. S.D. Sanjay, learned ASG and Convenor of the Committee, as well as to the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, the Departments of Home of all the States or UTs, the Directors General of Police, and the Secretaries of the Women and Child Welfare Departments of the respective States and UTs.
- Before the next date of hearing, an updated status report, along with details of the action taken by the Union of India, the States, the UTs, and the concerned Departments, shall be placed on record by way of an affidavit personally affirmed by the respective Nodal Officers. A copy of the same shall also be forwarded through e-mail to the Coordinator of the Committee prior to its filing before this Court.
- List on 05.08.2026 at 2.00 p.m. (POOJA SHARMA) (ANJALI PANWAR) AR-CUM-PS ASSISTANT REGISTRAR
जस्टिस अहसानुद्दीन अमानुल्लाह और आर. महादेवन की पीठ ने इस बात पर गंभीर नाराजगी जताई कि कुछ राज्यों ने अदालत के पहले के आदेश में इस्तेमाल किए गए शब्द “person” की व्याख्या केवल बच्चों तक सीमित कर दी। अदालत ने इस व्याख्या को गंभीरता से लेते हुए कहा कि ऐसा करना आदेश को संकीर्ण और गलत तरीके से पढ़ना है।
22 मई के आदेश का दायरा सभी लापता व्यक्तियों तक
सुप्रीम कोर्ट के पहले के निर्देश में लापता व्यक्तियों के मामलों में तत्काल FIR दर्ज करने पर जोर दिया गया था। अब अदालत ने साफ कर दिया है कि इसमें उम्र और लिंग का कोई अपवाद नहीं है। यानी 18 वर्ष से कम उम्र के बच्चे के साथ-साथ किसी वयस्क के लापता होने पर भी पुलिस को तत्काल आपराधिक मामला दर्ज करने की प्रक्रिया शुरू करनी होगी।
राज्यों की व्याख्या पर अदालत नाराज
पीठ ने कहा कि उसे यह जानकर आश्चर्य हुआ कि कुछ राज्यों को यह गलतफहमी थी कि अदालत का आदेश सिर्फ “missing children” से संबंधित है। अदालत ने इस व्याख्या को “deliberate and mala fide bogey” यानी जानबूझकर और गलत नीयत से खड़ा किया गया बहाना बताया।
अनुपालन नहीं किया तो अवमानना की कार्रवाई
सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने आदेश के अनुपालन को लेकर राज्यों और केंद्र शासित प्रदेशों को कड़ा संदेश दिया है। जिन राज्यों/UTs ने अदालत के निर्देशों के बावजूद आवश्यक अनुपालन नहीं किया या affidavits दाखिल नहीं किए, उनके मुख्य सचिवों और पुलिस महानिदेशकों के खिलाफ प्रथम दृष्टया अवमानना की कार्रवाई की जा सकती है। संबंधित अधिकारियों को व्यक्तिगत रूप से अदालत में उपस्थित होकर यह बताना होगा कि आदेश का पालन क्यों नहीं किया गया।
मानव तस्करी और अपराधों की जांच में महत्वपूर्ण कदम
अदालत के इस रुख का व्यापक महत्व है। किसी व्यक्ति के अचानक लापता होने के पीछे अपहरण, मानव तस्करी, जबरन मजदूरी, यौन अपराध या अन्य आपराधिक गतिविधि की संभावना हो सकती है। इसलिए शुरुआती सूचना को केवल सामान्य “missing report” मानकर कार्रवाई टालना जांच में महत्वपूर्ण समय गंवा सकता है। सुप्रीम कोर्ट का निर्देश पुलिस की शुरुआती प्रतिक्रिया को अधिक जवाबदेह बनाने की दिशा में है।
आम नागरिक के लिए इसका क्या मतलब?
इस आदेश का व्यावहारिक अर्थ यह है कि यदि कोई व्यक्ति लापता होता है तो परिवार को यह कहकर कई दिन इंतजार करने के लिए बाध्य नहीं किया जाना चाहिए कि वह शायद स्वयं कहीं चला गया है। लापता होने की सूचना पुलिस के लिए तत्काल कार्रवाई का आधार बन सकती है।
हालांकि, यह समझना भी जरूरी है कि हर missing-person case में किसी अपराध का होना स्वतः सिद्ध नहीं होता। FIR दर्ज होने का उद्देश्य पुलिस को औपचारिक जांच और व्यक्ति की तलाश के लिए आवश्यक कानूनी प्रक्रिया शुरू करने में सक्षम बनाना है।
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/143062923/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने स्पष्ट कर दिया है कि कानून की नजर में “लापता व्यक्ति” केवल बच्चा नहीं है। हर उम्र और हर लिंग के व्यक्ति के लापता होने पर तत्काल FIR और प्रभावी पुलिस कार्रवाई जरूरी है। राज्यों द्वारा इस निर्देश की अवहेलना अब अधिकारियों के लिए व्यक्तिगत न्यायिक जवाबदेही और अवमानना की कार्रवाई तक ले जा सकती है।