Jharkhand High Court: While considering a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution concerning the trafficking of a minor girl child who has remained missing since 2018, the Division Bench of Sujit Narayan Prasad and Arun Kumar Rai, JJ., held that Aadhaar details can be disclosed under Section 33(1) of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 (‘Aadhaar Act’) to aid the Special Investigation Team (‘SIT’) in tracing victims of trafficking. The Court emphasised that trafficking is rampant in Jharkhand, particularly among tribal aborigines, and directed the State to move an application for Aadhaar details, while also calling upon the Ministry of Home Affairs to suggest a Standard Operating Procedure (‘SOP’) for such cases.
Case Background of Minor Girl Missing Since 2018:
The matter arose from a writ petition filed by the mother of a minor girl who has been missing since 2018, allegedly trafficked from Jharkhand. The petitioner stated that she was subjected to threats and violence, being branded a witch and assaulted, while the local police failed to lodge her complaint and instead compromised the matter.
The SIT was later constituted and reported that all efforts were being made to trace the victim, including requisitioning Aadhaar details to obtain possible clues such as bank accounts, but no response had been received from Unique Identification Authority of India (‘UIDAI’). It was submitted that the Director, UIDAI should be impleaded as a party-respondent, which direction was accordingly issued by the Court.
The State undertook to move an application under Section 33 of the Aadhaar Act to obtain Aadhaar details for tracing the victim. Reports placed before the Court by JHALSA also indicated that the petitioner had been manhandled by her brother-in-law, though the matter was compromised, and subsequently an FIR was instituted under relevant provisions of the Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (‘BNS’) and the Prevention of Witch (Daain) Practices Act, 2001.
Analysis and Decision of the Jharkhand High Court:
The Court emphasised that while dealing with the issue of trafficking in the State of Jharkhand, where the majority of the victims trafficked are from the remotest areas of the State and being tribal aborigines having no means to sustain themselves, that is the main reason for becoming victims of trafficking at the hands of racketeers who are deeply involved in human trafficking.
The Court noted that since the victims mainly belong to the marginalized community of the State of Jharkhand and when there is no access even to go to the local police station due to many reasons, one of which is illiteracy, in such circumstances the situation of supply of Aadhaar Card, which is one of the main sources of having a clue to trace out the victim, is to be handled carefully.
The Court observed that in many cases, if the occurrence of trafficking took place in the year 2018—19, as in the present case where the victim was trafficked sometime in 2018, only when this Court took cognizance on the basis of the motion made by the mother of the victim by filing the instant writ petition was the SIT constituted.
The Court highlighted that since the mother of the victim approached this Court by invoking the jurisdiction conferred under Article 226 of the Constitution, the State has undertaken to move an application for obtaining the details of the Aadhaar Card. The Court highlighted that the moot question which arises is what will happen in other cases where the parents of missing or trafficked children are themselves facing the rigors of trafficking of their own child and are not in a position to approach the Court.
The Court observed that it had already held in earlier orders that legislation is meant to serve the cause of substantial justice. In the present matter, while dealing with rampant trafficking, the Court considered whether the statutory barrier restricting UIDAI from supplying Aadhaar documents could stand in the way of substantive justice.
The Court noted that the issue has been posted for 25-02-2026 to deliberate on framing a SoP for outsiders coming into Jharkhand for livelihood, and accordingly called upon the Home Secretary and the DGP to prepare such SOP. Since the Aadhaar Act is a central legislation, the Court also sought suggestions from the Ministry of Home Affairs to be placed on the next date of hearing.
The Court emphasised that in trafficking cases time is of the essence, listed the matter for 25-02-2026, dispensed with the personal appearance of officers for the present, and directed that further updates be filed on the next date.
[Chandramuni Urain v. State of Jharkhand, W.P. Cr. (HB) (DB) No. 628 of 2025, decided on 12-02-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the Petitioner: Shashank Shekhar, Advocate
For the Respondent: Srikant Swaroop, AC to AAG II, Prashant Pallav, ASGI