The Supreme Court has clarified that its direction for the immediate registration of FIRs in missing-person cases applies to everyone, regardless of age or gender, after concerns that some States and Union Territories were interpreting the May 22 order as applying primarily to missing children. Court Rejects Narrow InterpretationThe latest clarification is significant because the Supreme Court has made clear that the word “person” in its earlier order cannot be read narrowly. The Court has now reiterated that this protection extends to missing children as well as adults, irrespective of gender. The latest proceedings show that the Court is now focusing not only on issuing directions but also on enforcing them. Whether the missing person is a child, a woman, a man, an elderly person or anyone else, the first response should be speed, empathy and institutional responsibility.