The Supreme Court today asked the Center to spell out its position on the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on the registration of FIRs on missing children and the steps for tracing them. A Bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu gave the Centre one week's time to apprise it on SOPs which National Legal Service Authority (NALSA) has prepared in consultation with other stakeholders, including the Home Ministry, women and child welfare Ministry and NGOs.

The Bench expressed anguish over the Madhya Pradesh government's failure in taking action in tracing such kids and summoned the state's Chief Secretary to be personally present on the next date of hearing. Impressed by Bihar government's performance in tracing 169 missing children within a week after its order, the Bench directed it to complete the task of finding out remaining 464 children within three weeks.

The Apex Court also granted four weeks time to the Chhattisgarh government to find out all such children in the state. The court's order came in the course of the hearing of a PIL by NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan, which had moved the court to seek its intervention for tracing a large number of missing children all over the country.