Plea On Missing Girls, Women In Maharashtra: High Court Directs State To File Affidavit On Measures Taken To Curb Such Instances

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court concerning the issue of missing girls and women in the State of Maharashtra.

The PIL raised concerns over the alarming number of missing girls and women in Maharashtra and alleged inaction on part of the State authorities to trace the missing people.

The petitioner relied on the information provided in Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India on 14.03.2023. According to this data, there were 1,00,842 cases of missing women aged 18 and above in Maharashtra from 2019 to 2021.

The petitioner contended that are no specific mechanisms to trace missing women and children in the State. It was also alleged that the police do not cooperate in cases where women above 18 years of age go missing.

The petitioner seeks to direct the State authorities to carry out immediate investigation, trace the missing people and take appropriate actions against the culprits. Further, to direct the State authorities to provide status reports of efforts being taken by them to tackle the issue.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar heard the matter today and issued notice to the respondent authorities (State of Maharashtra, Department of Women and Children and Director General of Police).

The Court remarked “There may be various cases of the children and women going missing, however, it is the duty of the State to trace them and protect them and, if necessary, give them in safe custody. One of the reasons for such staggering number of missing children and women in the State of Maharashtra possibly is a menace of human trafficking...”

It stated that different State authorities need to work in tandem to check such instances.

The Court directed the respondent-authorities to file an affidavit-in-reply about the mechanism available with the State government and authorities to trace missing women and children. It said that the affidavit should also disclose the measures in place which have/are being applied by the State to curb human trafficking, especially of children and women.

The Court impleaded Maharashtra State Commission for Women as a respondent party. It directed the Commission to file an affidavit suggesting measures that can be adopted by the State to address such incidents.

It further directed the Director General of Police of the Government Railway Police to file an affidavit bringing on record the steps being taken by the railway police in Maharashtra to curb human trafficking.

Case title: Shahaji Ramdas Jagtap vs. The State Of Maharashtra And Ors (CRPIL/14/2024 [Criminal])

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