NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has indicated that it will formulate a common Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for the recovery of missing children across the country, observing that such cases are rampant and often do not receive the urgency they demand.
Terming the Tamil Nadu government’s delayed response in a missing child case as having “woken up from slumber”, the apex court recently said it intends to put in place a uniform mechanism to ensure timely and effective action in such matters.
“The matter relates to recovery of a missing child. We find that such incidents are rampant all over the country and probably the right amount of attention or priority is not being given by the authorities concerned in such matters, which concerns us,” observed a two judge bench of the apex court headed by Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice R. Mahadevan.
The top court made these observations while hearing a matter concerning the recovery of a child who had gone missing in 2011 in Tamil Nadu, when she was 1 year and 10 months old.
“The endeavour of the Court would be to evolve a common Standard Operating Procedure, which is required to be put in place, as time is of great essence in such matters and is the most vital element in such cases, if at all there can be any real chances of recovery of such missing children,” the court said, fixing the matter for further hearing on March 10 at 2 pm.
The court passed these remarks against the Tamil Nadu government when the matter was heard on January 16, noting that the State had finally woken up from slumber and had taken some steps.
“The endeavour of the Court would be to evolve a common Standard Operating Procedure, which is required to be put in place, as time is of great essence in such matters and is the most vital element in such cases, if at all there can be any real chances of recovery of such missing children,” the Court stressed.
It went on to add that, from the submissions of counsel for the parties and the material on record, it transpires that the State has now woken up to the problem and that, in the present case, certain steps have been taken which are in the right direction.
While widening the ambit of the case, the top court also made the Union of India, through the Union Home Secretary, and all State Governments and Union Territories, through their respective Home Secretaries, parties to the proceedings as respondents.