The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Centre, Delhi government, and city police in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) raising alarm over a sharp surge in the number of missing persons in the national capital, including untraced children.
A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia sought the stand of the authorities and inquired if a similar matter was pending before the Supreme Court. The matter has been posted for hearing on February 18.
The PIL has been filed by NGO Freedom Reclaimed, which claims Delhi is facing an “unprecedented crisis” of missing persons, citing police data that over 800 individuals went missing in just the first 15 days of 2026. The petition has been filed through advocate Abhishek Tiwari.
The NGO has argued that the right to be found is an integral part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. It claims that the sheer volume of disappearances indicates a systemic failure in both preventive policing and investigative response.
“The current situation is of such grave and mounting concern that it necessitates this Hon’ble court to look beyond the ‘procedural formalities’ of a standard investigation,” the petition states, warning of a “flourishing ecosystem for organised crime, human trafficking and other grave organised criminal activities” that benefit from official inaction.
Citing figures from the Delhi Police’s official record “Statement of Missing Persons in Delhi (Manual-17/4158)”, the PIL notes that between 2016 and January 15, 2026, a total of 2,32,737 persons have been reported missing in Delhi. Shockingly, 52,326 of them remain untraced to date.
Among those still missing are 6,931 children below 18 years, which the petitioner says amounts to a continuing and collective violation of Article 21 rights.
Despite the existence of a comprehensive legal framework—including Supreme Court guidelines, standing orders under the Delhi Police Act, and standard operating procedures by the Ministry of Home Affairs—the petition alleges “chronic administrative inertia” in missing persons cases.
It highlights that the crucial “Golden Hour” after a disappearance is routinely disregarded, with complaints often delayed due to procedural reluctance to register FIRs.
The petitioner has sought court directions to:
- Ensure strict compliance with investigative protocols in every missing-person case
- Constitute a high-level coordination committee under the police commissioner and Delhi government
- Periodically cross-verify records of missing persons with those of unidentified patients in hospitals and unidentified bodies in mortuaries
The court’s intervention, the NGO argues, is essential to address the deep-rooted structural failures contributing to this crisis. The next hearing is scheduled for February 18.
