The Supreme Court on Wednesday called for responses from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights regarding a petition advocating for a centralized national DNA and biometric tracking framework to trace and reunite missing children with their families.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana issued notices on a public interest litigation filed by petitioner Reepak Kansal through advocate Pravir Choudhary. The plea urges the establishment of a statutory biometric and genetic identification network to streamline the identity confirmation and reunification process for rescued minors.
Proposed Integration And Verification Standards
Under the proposed mechanism, authorities would collect mandatory DNA samples from unidentified rescued children as well as willing biological parents or guardians, subject to consent protocols and privacy safeguards. The petition highlights the need to link existing databases maintained by police departments, Child Welfare Committees, shelter homes, and Anti-Human Trafficking Units into a single real-time platform.
To curb child trafficking and unlawful adoptions, the plea proposes mandatory DNA verification against national records before any adoption process is finalized. Additionally, it asks for dedicated national and state-level task forces to ensure interstate coordination, time-bound investigations, and child rehabilitation.
Standard Operating Procedures And Monitoring
The petition further seeks the establishment of standardized operating procedures covering tracing, genetic testing, reunification, financial compensation, and long-term care monitoring.
To maintain accountability, the petitioner requests that authorities periodically submit compliance affidavits to the court. These filings would detail statistics on missing children, collected genetic samples, verified matches, family reunifications, criminal prosecutions launched, and rehabilitation measures undertaken.
