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Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday said it is the duty of the Maharashtra government to trace, protect and provide safe shelter to missing children and women.
A PIL was being heard in the Bombay High Court. A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar directed the Maharashtra government to file an affidavit stating what steps the government has taken in such cases. The bench sought information from the GRP about the measures taken to stop human trafficking.
Shahaji Jagtap, a resident of Sangli, requested the state government to direct the government to trace more than one lakh women who went missing from Maharashtra between 2019 and 2021 in a public interest litigation (PL-Jan Hita Pila) filed in the Bombay High Court. The petition expressed concern over the alleged failure of the concerned authorities to take necessary action in cases of disappearance of several women and children. The counsel for the petitioner said that Jagtap's own daughter has gone missing. During efforts to trace his daughter, the petitioner came to know that the number of missing children from Maharashtra was 'very high'. On March 14, 2023, the Union Home Ministry told the Lok Sabha that Maharashtra has a high number of missing children below the age of 18 years. 4562 children went missing in 2019, 3356 in 2020 and 4129 in 2021. In these three years, more than one lakh women above the age of 18 went missing in the state.
The Bombay High Court had said that there could be different reasons for the disappearance of children and women. It is the responsibility of the state government to trace them and provide safe shelter if necessary. Human trafficking can also be one of the reasons for the disappearance of such a large number of children and women. To eliminate this threat, all government departments like police, railways etc. should work in coordination. The applicant said that in November 2022, the Supreme Court had directed the authorities to block the number so that this does not happen.
The court directed the state government to give details of the arrangements made by the government to trace the missing children/women and prevent such incidents in an affidavit. The bench said that the affidavit should contain information about the arrangements and steps taken by the Maharashtra government to prevent the disappearance of children and women. The Maharashtra State Women's Commission is requested to suggest what steps should be taken by the state government to prevent such incidents.
The next hearing is to be held on October 4.