HC slaps strict order: produce missing minor in court on April 6

Madhya Pradesh High Court has ordered police to present a 17‑year‑old abducted girl and all accused before it on April 6, after berating the force for inaction in the case.

High court steps in

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has intervened in the alleged abduction of a 17‑year‑old SC‑category girl from Bada Gonda area under Mahu police station in Indore district, directing local police to produce the minor and all named suspects before the bench on April 6. The order came on a habeas corpus–style petition filed by the girl’s father, a daily‑wage labourer living in the Mohua belt, who claimed his daughter had been taken away by one Pawan Singh and kept in illegal custody for over a month.

Sources connected with the Indore Bench told reporters that the court held an unscheduled hearing even after holiday hours, underscoring the seriousness it attached to the case. A division bench, comprising Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi, pulled up the police for “deliberate delay” and “casual handling” of the complaint and asked the Additional Advocate General, Rahul Sethi, to convey its observations to the state government.

Delay in FIR and names ‘erased’

According to the petition, the girl went missing on February 23, and her father approached the Bada Gonda police station with a clear complaint naming Pawan Singh as the alleged abductor. The family alleged that the officer in charge initially refused to register an FIR and even assaulted the victim’s maternal uncle when he went to the station to press his plea. Eventually an FIR was lodged, but the police described the accused as “unknown persons”, despite the family repeatedly furnishing Pawan Singh’s name and address.

The father’s petition, filed through advocates Shubham Mandil and Gaurav Gupta, stated that no meaningful search operation was mounted for nearly a month, and the police did not record any proper statement or call the family members for a detailed inquiry. He also pointed out that his daughter, who is 17 years and 3 months old, is a minor protected under the POCSO framework, and her continued absence raises serious concerns about safety and exploitation.

Court reprimands police

During the hearing, the bench reportedly took a strong view of the police’s conduct, observing that the skipping of a named accused in the FIR amounted to a “technical subversion” of the law. The court noted that the police appeared more reluctant to act than to investigate, and directed the state to “produce the girl in any condition” before the court on April 6, along with Pawan Singh and all other persons involved in the case.

Judicial sources said the bench made it clear that the matter involved the physical liberty of a minor girl and could not be treated as a routine investigation. The court also instructed the police to ensure the girl’s safety and medical examination before the next date, and warned of “strict action” if no visible progress was shown in the probe.

Change in police behaviour

The high court’s order has visibly altered the police’s approach. Officials said that within hours of the hearing, a team from Bada Gonda police reached the victim’s neighbourhood and spoke to the family members, something they had not done in the first six weeks after the complaint. The force also began collecting fresh statement‑inputs from the girl’s relatives and neighbours and is reportedly coordinating with other districts to track down Pawan Singh’s possible hideouts.

At the same time, officers acknowledged that the case had been treated as a “routine missing‑person matter” earlier, even though the petition clearly alleged abduction and illegal confinement. They have now started treating it as a targeted tracking operation, with plans to issue formal notices to the accused and flush‑out teams if he does not appear by the stipulated date.

Broader context on missing minors

The case has also revived concerns about the repeated delays in missing‑minor cases across Madhya Pradesh. In recent months, the High Court has repeatedly pulled up the police for failing to trace several minor girls, with one earlier order noting that dozens of such cases remained unresolved for years. The court has previously warned that the delay not only erodes public faith in the system but also increases the risk of sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Activists working with child‑rights groups in Bhopal and Indore said many families from marginalised communities, especially those from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe backgrounds, hesitate to approach police due to fear of harassment or apathy. They have, therefore, called for sensitisation of station‑level officers and faster FIR registration in cases involving missing minors.

What happens now

With the April 6 date looming, legal and police officials expect the court to examine the physical condition and statements of the girl, if recovered, and to assess whether charges under the POCSO Act and the kidnapping provisions of the IPC are warranted. The bench may also decide whether to transfer the investigation to a higher‑level agency or appoint a Special Investigation Team if it finds the local police probe inadequate.

For the victim’s family, the next few days will be crucial. The labourer‑father, who has been living in uncertainty, said he decided to approach the High Court only after exhausting all local options. He now hopes that the court’s direct intervention will ensure that his daughter is brought back home and that the accused are held accountable under law.