Delhi High Court issues guidelines for investigation into cases of missing children

The Delhi High Court recently issued a slew of guidelines to reinforce the existing standing orders and standard operating procedures in relation to the investigation of the cases of missing children [Lamboder Jha vs Govt NCT Of Delhi & Ors]..Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma noted that investigating officers face challenges in cases involving missing children and that there was a need to lay down additional guidelines for their benefit as well as that of the public.The Court remarked that “children being the most valuable treasures of an emergent Dynamic Bharat” deserve the best and safe environment. It stressed that the law enforcing and investigating agencies must work collectively to ensure that missing children are not only found at the earliest but also restored to their guardians..The Court made the observations in a case filed by the father of a 16-year-old girl who had gone missing in July this year. She was eventually found and the Court was told that she had left the house out of her own will due to some misunderstanding with her parents. However, her father raised concern that she was only found after a delay of 17 days due to the negligence of the police authorities. Hence, he urged the Court to direct the authorities to ensure compliance with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for cases of missing children issued by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2016.Considering this larger issue, the Court proceeded to issue the following directions. .Translation of SOPThe Court ordered that the SOP as well as the Standing Orders of the Delhi Police for cases of missing children should be translated into languages widely spoken in Delhi, like Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. The Court reasoned that the same will facilitate a clear understanding of the SOP among police personnel..Training modules and ready-to-use handbookThe Court also said that learning modules must be created for the convenience of police personnel. In this regard, it directed the Delhi Police Academy to ensure that such training modules are provided to all the newly recruited police officials in the Academy.It also ordered that a user-friendly ready-to-use handbook be developed by condensing the key procedure for quick reference and be made available in each police station.In addition, the Court also said that a standardised checklist must be formulated and maintained at all police stations to guide investigating officers.“The checklist for investigating cases of missing children must incorporate specific timeframes for the completion of each procedure. This will ensure that the Investigating officers have a clear roadmap, thus promoting accountability and expeditious resolution in such sensitive cases,” the Court added. .Technological advancementsThe Court emphasised that investigating agencies must learn modern techniques of investigation to tackle human trafficking in cases involving missing children. In this context, it stressed on the need for specialised training in cyber-enabled investigation techniques as well as learning from the global expertise.Periodic reviewThe Court also called for a review of the SOP and Standing Orders by the authorities to ensure they meet the demands of changing times. Duty of complainantsThe Court also noted that there have been instances where parents or guardians locate a missing child but do not inform the investigating agency of the recovery.To address this gap, the Court ordered that whenever a complaint about a missing children is filed, it must specifically include a provision specifying that in case the parents or guardians discover the whereabouts of the missing child, the investigating officer should be promptly and mandatorily informed within 48 hours..With these directions, the Court disposed of the petition. .Advocates Soayib Qureshi, Sandeep Bajaj, Aparna Singhand Harikesh Anirudhan represented the petitioner.Additional Standing Counsel Sanjeev Bhandari with Advocates Kunal Mittal and Saurabh Tanwar represented the State..[Read Judgment]