A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in the Bombay High Court raised the issue of missing girls and women in the State of Maharashtra. It shed light on the alarming number of missing girls and women in Maharashtra and the alleged non-action on the part of the State Authorities.

The statistics on which the petitioner relied were provided in Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, on March 14, 2023. The data stated was that there were 1,00,842 cases of missing women aged 18 and above in Maharashtra from 2019 to 2021 and missing women aged below 18 for the same duration were 12,000. Similarly, the number of missing women in the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 was 35,990, 30,089 and 34,763, respectively. 

The matter was before the division bench of Chief Justice of Bombay HC, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar on August 22, 2024 and notices were issued to the respondent authorities (State of Maharashtra, Department of Women and Children, and Director General of Police).

The petitioner argued that there are no specific mechanisms in place to trace missing women and children in the state. It was alleged that the disappearance of women is not taken seriously, and moreover, the police do not cooperate in cases where women above 18 years of age go missing. 

It was also the petitioner’s plea that the State Authorities carry out an immediate investigation, take appropriate actions against culprits, have a thorough investigation to trace the missing women and girls and direct the State Authorities to increase transparency by providing reports of efforts being taken by them to tackle the issue at hand.

Taking cognizance of the petitioner’s arguments and plea, the Court noted that “there may be various causes of children and women going missing. However, it is the duty of State to trace them, protect them, and, if necessary, give them safe custody. One of the reasons for the staggering number of missing children is possibly the menace of human trafficking.”

The court directed that different State authorities must work together to check such instances and instructed the respondent State to file an affidavit-in-reply detailing the mechanisms available or being used by the State to trace missing women and children. They said that the affidavit should also include measures and actions being taken by the State to curb human trafficking of women and children.

The court impleaded the Maharashtra State Commission for Women as a respondent party and has directed the said respondent to file an affidavit suggesting measures that can be utilised by the State Authorities to address such incidents. The Director General of Police and Railways were also directed to file an affidavit bringing on record the steps being taken by them in Maharashtra to curb human trafficking.

Case title: Shahaji Ramdas Jagtap v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors., CRPIL/14/2024