Bombay High Court seeks State response on PIL to trace 1 lakh missing girls

The Bombay High Court on Thursday issued notice to the State government on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition seeking urgent action to trace nearly 1 lakh missing girls across Maharashtra. .A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar orally observed that the State has responsibility to address this urgent issue and sought the response of the government to the PIL."There may be various causes of children and women going missing. However, it is the duty of the state to trace them, protect them, and, if necessary, provide safe custody. One of the reasons for such a staggering number of missing children and women is possibly the menace of human trafficking," the Court said..The PIL was filed by Shahaji Jagtap, a former Indian Army soldier currently working as an accounts clerk in the government treasury.He became personally invested in this issue after his daughter went missing in December 2021. Despite numerous visits to the local police station, he found no significant efforts were made to locate her. Days after her disappearance, the petitioner learned from the police that she had converted to Islam and married a man belonging to Muslim faith. .He was only permitted a brief meeting with her at the police station and remains in the dark about the circumstances surrounding her drastic decisions. The sudden loss of his daughter has caused severe emotional distress to his wife who now requires ongoing medical treatment, the PIL filed through advocate Manjiri Parasnis said.The petitioner continues to grapple with questions about where he and his wife went wrong, as their daughter severed all ties with her family..Motivated by his personal tragedy, the petitioner researched the broader issue of missing women in Maharashtra and uncovered a shocking trend. The petitioner contended that according to data provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs in response to a parliamentary question on March 14, 2023, a staggering 100,842 women aged 18 and above were reported missing in the State from 2019 to 2021, thereby revealing a persistent and growing crisis..The State’s mechanisms for tracing and protecting these missing individuals have been grossly inadequate, it was argued.The petitioner emphasized a lack of coordinated efforts among State authorities, including the police and women’s welfare departments, as a significant factor contributing to this ongoing tragedy. .He also referenced the Supreme Court’s guidelines in the judgment in the Horilal Vs. Commissioner of Police, Delhi for tracing missing children. These directives are not being effectively implemented in Maharashtra, it was submitted.The Court directed the State government to file detailed affidavits within four weeks, outlining the measures in place to trace and safeguard missing women. Additionally, the Maharashtra Commission for Women (MCW) and the Director General of the Government Railway Police (GRP) were called upon to submit their responses, particularly regarding steps taken to combat human trafficking.