Supreme Court asks States to appoint nodal officers to trace missing children, upload details on Centre-run portal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 14, 2025) directed the Union government to instruct all States and union territories to depute a nodal officer to handle cases of missing children and to provide their names and contact details for publication on the Mission Vatsalya portal operated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by the non-profit organisation, Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan, which highlighted the rising number of missing children across several States who remain untraced.

A Bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan observed, “We direct the Union of India to communicate to each State and union territory to depute a nodal officer responsible for cases of missing children and to make available their name and telephone number so that these details may be uploaded on the Mission Vatsalya portal.”

The Bench further directed that whenever a complaint regarding a missing child is received on the portal, the information should be simultaneously shared with the respective nodal officers. They must then take prompt action to trace the child, identify and investigate the perpetrators, and register additional complaints where necessary.

In an earlier hearing, the apex court had directed the Centre to develop an online platform to trace missing children, allowing police agencies across States and union territories to share information and coordinate investigations.

Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor-General Aishwarya Bhati informed the Bench that such a system was already in place through the Mission Vatsalya portal. She added that two earlier platforms, TrackChild and Khoya-Paya, had been integrated into it, and that 14 stakeholders were currently participating in the initiative.

Ms. Bhati submitted that any citizen who comes across a missing child, or any parent or guardian seeking to report a missing child, can directly access the portal to file a complaint.

‘Cooperation needed’

However, Justice Nagarathna remarked that there was “hardly any dissemination of information” among the stakeholders concerned despite the existence of a dedicated portal. “There has to be cooperation between the State and the Centre in this… this is how you make it workable,” she said.

Senior advocate Aparna Bhat, assisting the court as amicus curiae, drew attention to a recent surge in cases of child abduction and trafficking, observing that authorities had failed to take timely and effective action. 

The Bench directed that the deputed nodal officers must establish a coordinated network across districts, States, and union territories to ensure efficient dissemination and collection of information. It also instructed all stakeholders to hold an online consultation before the next hearing to formulate practical and effective recommendations.

The court granted four weeks to the Centre to collect details of nodal officers from all States and union territories and to upload the information on the Mission Vatsalya portal.