HC seeks reply on missing persons investigation norms

Delhi High Court seeks responses from the Centre and Delhi Police on enforcing protocols for missing persons following a petition by NGO Freedom Reclaimed.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the Centre and Delhi Police’s stand in a petition seeking strict enforcement of the statutory investigative protocols for missing persons.

The petition was filed against the backdrop of recent controversial reports, citing Delhi Police data on missing persons, which indicated that 807 people went missing in the Capital during the first two weeks of January.

A bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia sought a response in a petition filed by an NGO, Freedom Reclaimed, and fixed February 18 as the next date of hearing.

The petition was filed against the backdrop of recent controversial reports, citing Delhi Police data on missing persons, which indicated that 807 people went missing in the Capital during the first two weeks of January. The Delhi Police, in a statement a day later, had said that the data was being amplified through paid promotions, and warned of strict action against those spreading panic for monetary gain.

On Monday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognisance of the reports, and issued notices to the Delhi chief secretary, and the commissioner of police, seeking a report in two weeks.

In its petition, the NGO contended that despite existence of a legal framework governing investigations into missing persons, particularly children, including a Union Home Ministry advisory mandating that missing person complaints be treated as cognisable offences with FIR registration and immediate investigation, and a December 2016 standard operation procedure (SOP) prescribing a time-bound, child-centric investigative process, the authorities have failed to comply with these mandates.

“That, despite the existence of a comprehensive and binding legal framework governing missing persons investigations, including directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, Standing Orders issued under the Delhi Police Act, and SOPs by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the respondents have exhibited a pattern of chronic administrative inertia. The statutory mandate of immediacy has been reduced to a formality, with the critical “Golden Hour” following a disappearance routinely ignored. Complaints are met with procedural hesitation, FIR registration is delayed, and the urgency mandated by law is systematically diluted at the field level, defeating the very object of the prescribed safeguards,” the petition stated.

The NGO also asserted in its petition that there is a near-complete failure by the authorities to utilise available technological tools, particularly the Facial Recognition System (FRS) and databases maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), during crucial initial stages of investigation. It went on to add that despite access to advanced facial recognition infrastructure, such technology is often used belatedly or not at all.

This failure, the petition stated, defeats the purpose of creating these systems and deprives investigations of time-sensitive leads that could significantly improve the chances of early tracing and recovery of missing persons, especially children.