Supreme Court directs Centre to provide nationwide data on missing children and coordinate via Mission Vatsalya
The Supreme Court has directed the Union government to furnish six years of nationwide data on missing children. A bench led by Justice B.V. Nagarathna expressed concern over the rising number of untraced children and the lack of a dedicated nodal officer in the Home Ministry to coordinate with states. The court ordered the appointment of such an officer within two weeks and mandated that their details be uploaded to the Mission Vatsalya portal. This portal, administered by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, is intended to be a central platform for tracking and securing outcomes for missing children.
Key Points
- The Supreme Court emphasized the need for effective dissemination of information and coordinated use of the Mission Vatsalya platform.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs was criticized for not having a dedicated officer to oversee missing children cases despite being the central agency.
- The directive came during a hearing of a PIL filed by the NGO Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan regarding untraced children.
- All States and Union Territories are required to depute dedicated officers to oversee these cases and upload details promptly to the portal.
Exam Facts
- Mission Vatsalya is a scheme administered by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- The Supreme Court requested data covering the last six years of missing children cases.
- The Bench was led by Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan.
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