'Why Was Delhi Realtor Cremated Without Identification?' Supreme Court Raps Cops

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Delhi Police commissioner and the Gurugram police to file affidavits explaining why the body of missing Delhi realtor Yuvraj Singh Manchanda was cremated despite lack of identification.

Manchanda's body was found dumped in a Gurugram drain by Haryana Police on September 10, but the family was informed only on September 16.

His family has alleged that they were not informed about the recovery of the body and that the unidentified body was cremated on September 14.

Police have arrested Anya Vats and her husband Sanyam Sachdeva as accused in the case and the matter is currently under investigation.

A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan also asked the Gurugram police to explain why details concerning the recovery of the body were not uploaded on the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) portal.

During the hearing, senior advocate Mukta Gupta, who is chairperson of the committee constituted in relation to human trafficking, informed the top court that pursuant to the observations made by it, she has taken instructions regarding an incident in which a person from Delhi had gone missing.

"Three days later, he was identified as the person whose body had been found in Gurugram and cremated by the authorities due to lack of identification," she said.

The top court has listed the matter for hearing on October 5.

The top court had earlier clarified that its order directing states and Union territories to immediately register FIRs in cases of missing persons applies to every person, irrespective of age or gender.

Noting that 47,000 children remain untraced in India as on date, the top court on May 22 had directed police authorities across the country to immediately register FIRs in cases of missing persons and said the anti-human trafficking units should be made fully functional within four weeks.

Issuing a slew of directions, it had expressed displeasure over the rise in the number of cases of missing children and said they are often victims of organised inter-state trafficking syndicates.

"The Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, is directed to put in place an all-India grid connecting each and every police station in the country on one platform, which will have a special portal dedicated to human trafficking, including missing children and women.

"The concerned police stations are directed to immediately institute FIR the moment any information reaches them with regard to any person missing, without waiting for a preliminary inquiry or leaving it to the guardians of the missing persons... The said FIR shall mandatorily incorporate the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, relating to kidnapping/trafficking," the bench had said.

The court had said whenever a child goes missing, authorities should proceed on the presumption of kidnapping or abduction from the outset.

It had said registering such cases under the penal provisions for kidnapping would ensure seriousness in investigation and avoid delays.

The top court had also directed that the children who are traced should ordinarily be handed over to their families within 24 hours, unless there are indications that the family itself was involved in trafficking or exploitation.

"The moment any person is recovered or rescued, he/she should be taken for Aadhaar verification or for the making of an Aadhaar card. This direction is issued in view of the fact that, for the purpose of procuring an Aadhaar card, fingerprints and other biometrics are taken," the bench said.

The directions were passed on a petition filed by a man named G Ganesh before the Madras High Court after his daughter went missing from Chennai on September 19, 2011.

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