'Shocking' That Minor Girls Missing For 10+ Years, Yet Police Have No Whereabouts: MP High Court

The Madhya Pradesh High Court, on Wednesday (January 7), directed the Police authorities to file a detailed reply specifying the number of minor girls who have gone missing in the past decade. The court further instructed the authorities to disclose the number of girls who were traced through police efforts and those who returned voluntarily.

These directions were passed in a public interest litigation filed by a survivor of the flesh trade, who sought judicial intervention to safeguard minor girls who may be similarly vulnerable to exploitation.

The division bench of Justice GS Ahluwalia and Justice Anil Verma observed;

"It is really shocking that some of the girls are missing for the last more than 10 years, but still, police is not in a position to find out their whereabouts. It is also not known as to whether Police Headquarters has issued any specific direction to the concerning police station with regard to missing of girls for the last more than 10 years".

The petitioner had levelled serious allegations against five private respondents, contending that she was forced into the trade at the age of 9.

While issuing notice, the division bench had directed the authorities to proactively inquire into the allegations. At the subsequent hearing, the State informed the Court that a lady inspector had been deputed by the Superintendent of Police, Shivpuri, to investigate the allegations relating to the flesh trade.

During Wednesday's hearing, the court observed that the case raises an extremely alarming situation concerning missing minor girls. The bench noted that it remains unclear whether these girls left their homes voluntarily or were trafficked into the flesh trade.

Considering the seriousness of the issue, the court had summoned the Inspector General and the Superintendent of Police to provide a 'bird's eye view' regarding the actions taken by the authorities.

Amand Singh informed the court that, as per figures communicated to police headquarters, about 30 minor girls are currently missing from District Shivpuri. It was further stated that in the year 2025 alone, about 228 minor girls had gone missing, out of whom 210 were reported to have been recovered.

However, Singh was unable to confirm whether all these recoveries were made due to police action or whether these girls returned home voluntarily.

Expressing shock, the bench observed that some girls have been missing for more than 10 years and yet the police have been unable to trace their whereabouts. It was also unclear whether the police headquarters had issued any specific directions to local police stations regarding such long-pending cases.

Under the circumstances, the Court granted Kushwaha one week to file a detailed reply on the following points on behalf of the Inspector General and the Superintendent of Police;

"Gwalior Zone
(i) How many minor girls went missing from the year 2014 to year 2025?
(ii) How many minor girls were recovered?
(iii) How many minor girls had voluntarily come back to their houses or had gone to the police, and
(iv) In how many cases, police had actually traced out the girls and had apprehended the accused?
If the Inspector General of Police, Gwalior Zone finds that some drastic improvements are required for improving the situation of recovery of missing minor girls, then he shall also point out the same.
Shivpuri
(i) How many minor girls went missing from the year 2014 to year 2025?
(ii) How many minor girls were recovered?
(iii) How many minor girls had voluntarily come back to their houses or had gone to the police, and
(iv) In how many cases, police had actually traced out the girls and had apprehended the accused?".

The court further directed that if the IGP finds that drastic improvements are required to strengthen the recovery mechanism, the same should be specifically pointed out.

Deputy Solicitor General Praveen Newaskar, appearing for the National Commission for Women.

The court noted with concern that despite notices being issued earlier, service upon NCW had not been completed, reportedly due to failure by the postal department. Grating time to the counsel, the court allowed the NCW one week to file a reply.

The bench listed the case for January 19, 2026, observing,

"It is expected that looking to the important question involved in the present case, the National Commission for Women, New Delhi, would also rise to the occasion and would actively assist the Court to arrive to a right conclusion which may positively and in a more effective manner can protect the dignity as well as life of the minor girls".

Case Title: PD v State of Madhya Pradesh [WP-38098-2025]

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