Missing children case: SC pulls up state governments; summons Bihar, Chhattisgarh DGPs

Taking a stern view over the incomplete status reports filed in the missing children case, the Supreme on Thursday summoned the Chief Secretaries of Bihar, Karnataka, Tripura and Chhattisgarh, and the DGPs of Bihar and Chhattisgarh.

The apex court also made it clear that if the state governments don't take the matter seriously then their officers would be summoned and may also be punished for contempt of court.

"Today, some states did not file the status reports and the states which filed the report did not include the required information. So, the court has summoned four Chief Secretaries of Bihar, Karnataka, Tripura and Chhattisgarh, and two DGPs of Bihar and Chhattisgarh on October 30," said senior lawyer H S Phoolka.

"The court also said it will take up two states every day and will ask the details from those states and what efforts they are making. The Chief Justice very clearly conveyed that the states where children go missing repeatedly and no action is taken, we will also punish the officers of those states for contempt of court," he added.

The court had earlier directed many states to file a compliance report following a petition filed by the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, which led the court to provide many directions regarding complaints of missing children.