Jharkhand High Court Links Child Trafficking To 'Outsiders' In Garb Of Business; Orders Guidelines For Identification & Police Permission

The Jharkhand High Court has directed the Home Department to formulate guidelines to deal with persons entering Jharkhand from outside, particularly to ensure their proper identification and to require that permission be sought from the concerned police station.A Bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad and Justice Arun Kumar Rai passed this direction while hearing a Habeas Corpus petition filed by a mother seeking the production of her missing daughter.The Court expressed strong dissatisfaction with the handling of the case, reiterating its earlier observation that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed more than five years after the FIR was registered and only after the writ petition was filed.Earlier, on January 20, 2026, the High Court had directed the Superintendent of Police, Gumla, to appear physically along with the case diary and to apprise the Court of the progress made in tracing the missing child. The Court noted that, according to the records, the FIR was lodged on February 6, 2020, whereas the SIT was constituted only on August 29, 2025.During the proceedings on January 21, Mr Haris Bin Zaman, the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Gumla, appeared in person. He informed the Court that while 3 SITs had earlier moved outside the State and successfully recovered 9 other children, the petitioner's daughter had not yet been traced.During the hearing, the High Court took note of the larger issue of child kidnapping and trafficking, recording that incidents of a similar nature had been brought to the Court's attention. It specifically referred to the kidnapping of two children from the Dhurwa Police Station area in Ranchi.The Court was informed that the racket, as apprehended, was allegedly operated by outsiders from different States for business purposes. However, under the "garb of doing business", they were found to be involved in criminal activities, including human trafficking.The Court observed that this crime has devastating consequences for the physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development of children. It noted that victims often suffer lifelong health issues, severe trauma-related disorders, anxiety, depression, and difficulties in social integration, and added that children are nearly twice as likely to face extreme violence at the hands of traffickers. It held:"12. Child trafficking undermines healthy societal structures and perpetuates cycles of poverty and exploitation. It destroys childhood and can trap trafficked children in a cycle of violence and exploitation when they become parents themselves; it disrupts education and hinders community development. Addressing child trafficking is crucial for achieving broader social and economic stability and societal cohesion".Taking a systemic view, the Court held that the State, through the Department of Home, should formulate guidelines to deal with these categories of people coming into Jharkhand from outside, particularly for "proper identification and permission which is to be sought for from the concerned police station".Though the Court dispensed with the personal appearance of the SP, Gumla, for future hearings, it directed the Head of the SIT to appear on the next date to update the Court regarding the investigation.The matter has been listed next on 27th January 2026, when the Secretary, Home Department has been requested to appear through online mode to provide suggestions on how to deal with the situation.Title: Chandramuni Urain v. Director General of Police, Jharkhand and OrsCase Number: W.P. (Cr) (DB) No. 628 of 2025Appearance: Mr. Shashank Shekhar appeared for the Petitioner. Mr. Sachin Kumar and Mr. Srikant Swaroop appeared for the Respondents.Click Here To Read/Download Order

Jharkhand High Court Links Child Trafficking To 'Outsiders' In Garb Of Business; Orders Guidelines For Identification & Police Permission

Rushil Batra

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