The Bombay High Court on Thursday said it was the government's duty to trace missing children and women.
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), a division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar directed the Maharashtra government to file an affidavit on measures taken by it to deal with such cases.
The court also sought a reply from the Government Railway Police (GRP) on measures taken to check human trafficking, and suggestions from the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) for curbing human trafficking.
The PIL, filed by Sangli-resident Shahaji Jagtap, sought a direction to the state police to trace more than one lakh women who went missing in Maharashtra between 2019 and 2021.
The petition expressed concern over `inaction' by the state authorities in cases of missing women and children.
The petitioner's advocate Manjiri Parasnis on Thursday told the court that Jagtap's own daughter had gone missing.
While searching for her, he came across information provided by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in the Lok Sabha on March 14, 2023, that the number of children reported missing in Maharashtra was "very high." In 2019, 2020 and 2021, the number of children reported missing was 4,562; 3,356 and 4,129, respectively. Similarly, over one lakh cases of women aged 18 and above going missing were reported in Maharashtra in these three years.
The court in its order noted that there may be various causes of children and women going missing.
"However, it is a duty of the state to trace them and protect them, and if necessary give them safe custody. One of the reasons for such a staggering number of missing children and women, possibly, is the menace of human trafficking for which all authorities, including all government departments, police, railways and others need to work together," the bench said.
The court posted the matter for further hearing on October 4.
