Zareena Khatun and Anr. Vs Commissioner of Police… — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2025)

Zareena Khatun and Anr. Vs Commissioner of Police… — Writ and Judicial Review | Delhi HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Children traced and produced in Court; petition disposed of along with pending applications; Commissioner of Delhi Police and Social Welfare Department, GNCTD directed to issue general instructions/guidelines to NGOs on promptly informing Police about missing children; SHO, Police Station Bharat Nagar directed to take steps for the children's admission in proper schools.

Issue for consideration

Whether the two minor boys reported missing since 05.05.2025 could be traced and produced before the Court in exercise of jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. +1 more

Ratio / Principle

When a volunteer of any NGO comes across such missing children and takes them to its centre, the NGO is obliged to immediately inform the Police so that necessary action can be taken for producing the children before the concerned Police Station for further action.

Key takeaways

The Commissioner of Delhi Police and the Social Welfare Department, GNCTD are directed to pass general instructions and guidelines to the various NGOs for taking immediate steps so that there is no delay in ensuring that children go back to their respective homes.ratio¶18
The SHO, Police Station Bharat Nagar is directed to take steps so that the children are admitted in proper schools.ratio¶21

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking production of two minor boys ('A' and 'S', aged about 10 years) missing since 05.05.2025. The children had left home on their own, were found by volunteers and kept at Salaam Baalak Trust, Kamala Nagar, Delhi, without the Trust informing the Police; they were produced before the CWC, Kingsway Camp on 13.05.2025 and handed over to their mothers, with statements recorded under Section 183 BNSS, 2023. Held: an NGO whose volunteer takes custody of such children is obliged to immediately inform the Police. The Commissioner of Delhi Police and the Social Welfare Department, GNCTD were directed to frame general instructions/guidelines to NGOs to avoid delay in returning children to their homes, and the SHO, Police Station Bharat Nagar was directed to facilitate the children's admission in proper schools. Petition disposed of.

$~41

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

- W.P.(CRL) 1573/2025

ZAREENA KHATUN AND ANR ......Petitioners Through: Mr. Manish Kumar, Mr. Pankaj Sinha, Advocates

versus

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE DELHI AND ORS .....Respondents Through: Mr. Sanjay Lao, Standing Counsel (Crl.) with Mr. Abhinav Kumar Arya, Ms. Priyam Agarwal, Mr. Aryan Sachdeva, Advocates

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE HARISH VAIDYANATHAN SHANKAR

O R D E R

% 15.05.2025

The present writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India has been filed by the Petitioners for producing the body of two minor boys. There are two Petitioners who have approached this Court stating that two minor boys, namely, ‘A’ and ‘S’ aged about 10 years are missing since 05.05.2025.

The children have been traced and they have been produced in Court today. The children state that they left their house on 05.05.2025 just to roam around. It is stated that they were found by two volunteers who took them and kept them in the Salaam Baalak Trust at Kamala Nagar, Delhi.

Material on record indicates that Salaam Baalak Trust had not informed the Police that they have found two minor boys. It is stated that only when the ASI posted in the Communication Unit at Haiderpur, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi visited the said Trust, he got to know that two boys were kept there. The children were produced before the CWC, Kingsway

This is a digitally signed order.

The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 02/07/2025 at 00:57:41

Camp, Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi on 13.05.2025 and they were handed over to their respective mothers. The statements under Section 183 BNSS, 2023 were recorded wherein they have stated that they left their houses on their own just to roam around and they were found by two volunteers who took them to the Salaam Baalak Trust.

This Court is of the opinion that when a volunteer of any NGO comes across such children and they take them to their respective centres, the NGO concerned is obliged to immediately inform the Police about the same so that necessary action can be taken for producing the children before the concerned Police Station for further action.

The Commissioner of Delhi Police and the Social Welfare Department, GNCTD are directed to pass such general instructions and guidelines to the various NGOs for taking immediate steps so that there is no delay in ensuring that the children go back to their respective homes.

Since the children have been produced in Court today, nothing survives in the instant writ petition.

The petition is disposed of along with pending application(s), if any.

The SHO, Police Station Bharat Nagar is directed to take steps so that these children are admitted in proper schools.

SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD, J

HARISH VAIDYANATHAN SHANKAR, J

MAY 15, 2025 hsk

This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 02/07/2025 at 00:57:41