61 children, 31 FIRs, one unanswered gap

The Telangana High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of alleged unlawful adoptions and child-trafficking cases after examining reports from state authorities. The Home Department told the court that 61 children were victims in 31 FIRs and that 176 people were under investigation, according to a report published on September 23, 2026. (Source)

The department said biological parents had been traced in 27 cases and details from another 26 had been sent to Child Welfare Committees. The arithmetic leaves eight children outside those two categories. The report does not explain whether the figures refer to children or cases, overlap, or omit another category. Government reporting has apparently discovered subtraction.

The proceedings arose from a custody dispute involving a child from Nalgonda district. A January 2026 High Court judgment records the state’s position that the adoption had not followed the legally prescribed process and that a criminal case had been registered. It also records that the couple seeking custody were named as accused in that case; those allegations have not been adjudicated in the judgment. (Source)

The court has listed the wider proceedings for October 5, 2026, with the connected appeal listed for October 7, according to the report. The Home Department, Women and Child Welfare Department and police have not publicly explained the eight-child gap or the current status of the investigations in the material reviewed.