LUCKNOW, Dec. 22 -- Taking note of what it described as "lackadaisical attitude" of state authorities in tracing missing persons, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed the principal secretary (home), UP, to file a personal affidavit (reply) detailing how such cases are handled. The court has sought information on how many missing person complaint reports have been uploaded on the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) website since January 1, 2024, and how many of those persons have been traced. A division bench of Justice Abdul Moin and Justice Babita Rani passed the order on December 17 while hearing a petition filed by Vikrama Prasad, whose 32-year-old son went missing in July 2024. The petitioner had lodged a missing person report at Chinhat police station in Lucknow on July 17, 2024. However, no concrete action followed, prompting him to approach the high court on November 27, 2025. The court had earlier, on December 1, 2025, directed the commissioner of police, Lucknow, to file a personal affidavit indicating the progress made in tracing the missing person. The affidavit was subsequently filed. The court observed that it was only after judicial intervention that the official machinery was set in motion, leading to the registration of an FIR on December 2, 2025. "It is apparent that the efforts to trace the missing person commenced only after this court took cognisance of the matter," the bench noted. When queried by the court on how missing person complaints are dealt with, the state counsel submitted that such complaints are uploaded on the website and remain there until some impetus is provided, either through a court order or otherwise. The court said merely uploading a missing complaint and taking no further action until directed by a court was unacceptable in a welfare state. The affidavit must be filed within three weeks, failing which the official will have to appear in person along with relevant records, the court said. The matter has been listed for January 29, 2026. -Manoj Kumar Singh...