Police Cannot Refuse Missing Persons' Complaints Citing Lack Of Jurisdiction: Karnataka High Court Issues Guidelines

The Karnataka High Court has said that police shall not refuse to register any missing persons complaint on the ground that the concerned Police Station does not have the jurisdiction to deal with the same and issued a slew of directions to be followed by police in missing persons cases. A division bench of Justice S G Pandit and Justice C M Poonacha said:"No complaint should be refused to be registered on the ground that the concerned Police Station does not have the jurisdiction to deal with the same and information regarding the complaint ought to be immediately transmitted to the jurisdictional AHTU with instructions that a complaint is to be registered by the concerned jurisdictional Police Station for taking further action in the matter or any other website that has been created for the said purpose...The Investigating Officer shall also report the matter to the CID of the State Government so as to explore the possibility of an inter-state ramification vis-à-vis the missing complaint.”The court has issued directions while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by a father whose daughter has been missing since 2023 and the police have not been able to find her. It said “Having regard to the passage of time and evolution of technology, issue directions as to the manner in which a complaint regarding a missing person is to be investigated.” It thereafter issued the following directions to police authorities to follow in missing persons cases:The complaint pertaining to missing persons shall be promptly registered and the concerned statutory authority/ies after specifically noticing as to whether the complaint pertains to a missing woman/minors or any other person shall take suitable action in that regard including intimating the same to the jurisdictional AHTU. No complainant seeking to lodge a complaint of a missing person shall under any circumstances be turned away by any of the Police Authorities and every such complaint shall be attended to immediately and requisite action in that regard is to be taken, including suggesting to the complainant further possible measures that may be availed. Forensic evidence of the family members of the missing person to be secured to enable the investigating authorities to compare through DNA analysis, in case the mortal remains of the person be located subsequently. A recent photograph of the missing person is to be collected and copies of the same are to be circulated to the AHTU, CID, National Crime Records Bureau, etc.The details of the missing persons complaint shall be circulated electronically to the Beat Police Personnel as also Mobile Police Units like, Hoysala, etc., within 24 hours of a complaint being registered. The details of the missing persons (after obtaining necessary consent in that regard) be published in recognized daily newspapers as well as periodicals, daily/weekly/bi-monthly, as also through audio and video news networks. The details of the missing persons complaint shall be uploaded on various portals of the Union Government and the State Government as also similar portals of the other State Governments. The bench directed the state government to issue a comprehensive circular/notification to ensure compliance of the directions issued by also incorporating aspects as set out in the Standing Order bearing No.252 dated 18.3.2009 and the Standard Operating Procedure for Cases of Missing Children issued by the Government of Delhi. It further asked the government to take note of the SOP dated 23.11.2016 issued by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Standing Order No.Crime/18/2024 titled as “Procedure To be Followed On Receipt of Cases About Missing Children Persons & Incentive to Police Personnel For Recovery of Missing Children” issued by the Delhi Police and also consider circulars/SOPs /notifications issued by the Union and State Governments.It said, “The State Government, in the said circular/notification shall also mandate compliance of the same by the police authorities while investigating a missing persons complaint by stipulating that if the police authorities do not follow the directions, the concerned officer/s shall be liable to face appropriate disciplinary proceedings in accordance with the relevant service rules.”The court has also directed that every case of missing persons wherein the missing person has not been found or the mortal remains of the missing person having not been recovered for more than two months, the said case shall be placed before a Committee lead by the Inspector General of Police of the particular Range. The committee shall also include Superintendent of Police of the concerned District and the Deputy Superintendent Of police of the jurisdictional Police Station.The court said that the Committee shall review the investigation already done in the case placed before it and shall oversee further investigation in the matter and ensure compliance of various directions issued by the Supreme...

Police Cannot Refuse Missing Persons' Complaints Citing Lack Of Jurisdiction: Karnataka High Court Issues Guidelines

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