New Delhi, September 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Centre and state governments on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking time-bound investigation and speedy trial in kidnapping and abduction cases, particularly those involving children.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana sought responses to the petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. The notice is returnable in four weeks, with the matter listed for further hearing on November 6.
The PIL seeks directions for the Centre and states to formulate “Standard Questionnaires” and a “Special Investigation Procedure” for kidnapping and abduction cases. It has also sought that such investigations be handled by an officer not below the rank of ACP/SHO to ensure a time-bound response.
The petitioner has further sought the establishment of Special Courts, on the lines of courts handling cases involving MPs and MLAs, so that kidnapping and abduction cases are decided within one year.
The plea also seeks comprehensive assessment of the assets of alleged kidnappers and abductors and their family members, with provisions relating to money laundering, benami property and black money invoked wherever applicable. It has sought confiscation of movable and immovable properties of perpetrators and family members found directly or indirectly involved.
The petitioner has also sought a declaration that sentences in kidnapping and abduction cases should run consecutively rather than concurrently to create a stronger deterrent.
Citing data in the petition, Upadhyay claimed that around 15,000 missing cases have been registered annually in Bihar since 2013, many involving children, while only about half of the missing children are recovered.
The PIL also referred to NCRB data to highlight human trafficking concerns in Odisha, Bihar, Telangana and Maharashtra. It stated that Odisha has recorded the highest number of trafficking cases involving minor boys, followed by Bihar, while Rajasthan has reported the highest number of cases involving minor girls.
According to the plea, trafficked children face risks of forced begging, child labour, prostitution and other forms of exploitation. It contended that delays in registering FIRs and ineffective investigations reduce the chances of recovering kidnapped children safely and expose them to trafficking, sexual abuse, forced labour, illegal adoption, child marriage and organ trafficking.
The petition cited several recent incidents, including the Delhi Police’s June 2026 arrest of 13 people and rescue of five infants, aged between five days and four months, from an alleged interstate network spanning Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. It alleged that newborns from economically vulnerable families were abducted and sold for Rs 8-10 lakh for illegal activities.
It also referred to the alleged abduction, sexual assault and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Delhi’s Mehrauli area and the alleged abduction of a one-month-old girl from her sleeping mother’s lap in Hyderabad, both in June.
Other incidents cited in the petition included the alleged abduction and assault of a minor boy in Rajasthan’s Karauli, trafficking and sexual exploitation of a minor girl in Sri Ganganagar, and the taking away of seven tribal children from Udaipur on the pretext of providing free education before their rescue from Goa.
The PIL said families of missing children suffer psychological trauma, emotional distress, financial hardship and prolonged uncertainty, while children are deprived of constitutional rights to life, liberty, dignity, security and education.
The plea also referred to the Lok Sabha’s passage of the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018, and a Supreme Court direction in May 2026 concerning mandatory registration of FIRs.
The petitioner argued that the issue “transcends individual grievances and raises a matter of grave public importance” and requires coordinated measures for investigation, prosecution, asset tracing and deterrent punishment.
The PIL contends that the Centre and states have failed to establish a comprehensive and uniform framework for responding to kidnapping and abduction cases, particularly those involving children.
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