LI Network
Published on: 1 August 2023 at 11:23 IST
The Delhi High Court has announced its intention to issue guidelines for the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that the police must follow in cases of missing children. This decision came after a petition filed by the father of a minor girl who had gone missing.
The petitioner pointed out lapses in the procedure and argued that the SOP issued by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on November 23, 2016, was not followed in his daughter’s case.
The petitioner lodged a complaint at Police Station Kalindi Kunj under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code on July 11, 2023, after his 16-year-old daughter went missing.
Despite multiple visits to the police station between July 12 and July 16, 2023, he received no information about his daughter’s whereabouts. He then approached the Deputy Commissioner of Police, South-East District, to seek help in finding his daughter.
The State and the investigating officebr appeared before the Court upon receiving advance notice and produced the missing minor child, referred to as “X”.
During her statement under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), she stated that she had left her home voluntarily due to a misunderstanding with her parents.
However, in her interaction with the Court, the minor victim expressed apprehension about going back to her father. She feared that her parents might discontinue her studies and treat her poorly. After counseling by the father and the daughter, she agreed to accompany her father.
The Court considered the circumstances and the minor child’s desire to continue her studies. She was about 16 years old and presently studying in the 10th standard. The Court ordered that her studies should not be discontinued.
The Principal of her school would accept the leave application submitted by her father, covering the period when she had not attended school, without asking uncomfortable questions. The father was also instructed to ensure that the child continues attending the Government school she is enrolled in.
The bench directed the SHO, PS Kalindi Kunj, to send a female Sub Inspector to the petitioner’s house in plain clothes for the next six months to verify that the child attends school comfortably and that her studies have not been discontinued.
The case of Lamboder Jha v Govt NCT of Delhi & Ors has been listed for further consideration on August 1, 2023.