Hearing a petition by Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi’s child rights group, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, on missing children and trafficking, Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu on Thursday revealed that a mother of a missing child had come to his official residence crying for help.
“At about 8 p.m. last night [Wednesday], a mother came to my residence. She was crying, saying her child had gone missing from Delhi. Everyday children go missing ... and this goes on and on and on. What are the authorities doing? How will they feel if their children go missing?” asked the Chief Justice in open court.
‘Lacklustre attempts’ADVERTISEMENT
The petition highlighted the lacklustre attempts by State governments to find missing children, and sought comprehensive guidelines for registration of child missing cases.
“It really hurts us to see the news of missing children on TV. Next time we see such news, we will call the Chief Secretary and the police chief to be present before us for an explanation. You people think this is a tamasha?” CJI Dattu, heading a Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and A.K. Sikri, observed.
The Chief Justice said every week the Bench would take up two States to examine their performance in complying with the 2013 directions of the apex court.
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In 2013, the court issued a slew of directions, including the direction that cases of missing children be registered as a cognisable offence.