By Admin 
The Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the increasing number of missing people in Uttar Pradesh. The court has directed the registry to file a PIL. The court found that more than 1 lakh 8 thousand people have gone missing in the last two years, but the police, showing a ‘lax attitude’, took action only in 9700 cases.
Expressing serious concern over the situation, the court said that the figures placed before it were ‘shocking’. The bench remarked, “We are surprised at the attitude of the authorities towards the complaints relating to missing persons which clearly requires immediate action on the part of the authorities.”
Petitioner’s son missing for 2 years
The bench of Justice Abdul Moeen and Justice Babita Rani made these comments during the hearing of a petition by Vikrama Prasad. Prasad had alleged that his son had gone missing in July 2024 and the police showed no interest in finding him.
108300 people missing in 2 years
During the hearing, the bench sought a detailed affidavit from the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department. According to the affidavit, between January 1, 2024 and January 18, 2026, complaints of missing persons of about one lakh eight thousand 300 people were filed across the state, but action was taken only in 9700 cases to find the missing persons. No action had been initiated yet in the remaining cases.
Hearing in the case again today
Taking note of these figures, the bench expressed displeasure over the ‘lax attitude’ of the police and considering the issue to be a matter of wider public interest, directed the court registry to register the matter as a PIL. The court directed that the hearing of this case be listed on February 5.