Supreme Court sends notices to Centre, states

NEW DELHI: Stating that nothing was more ‘disastrous than the sale of children’, the Supreme Court on Thursday sent notices to states and the Centre to know what measures they have taken to combat child trafficking.

“A child cannot be bartered away at the whim and fancy or selfishness of the person in-charge of orphan ages. The person concerned maybe liable for violation of human rights,” read the order passed by a CJI Dipak Mis ra-headed bench as it brought the rulesrelated to functioning of orphanages in various states under itsscrutiny. The SC made the observation after the issue of children being trafficked from a Kolka ta orphanage was brought to its notice.

Observing that the future of the country was dependent on the destiny of its children, the SC also decided to look into the issue of setting up of human rights courts as envisaged under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. The law would “include the dig- nity of the individual and in that compartment dignity of a child deserves to be covered,” it said.

The SC order came on a petition filed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) against an earlier Calcutta HC ruling, in which the court restrained the national child rights body from getting involved in the issue of child traf- ficking in West Bengal since the state commission had already been apprised of the situation.

Additional solicitor general Tush ar Me ht a said the high court order was contrary to the law as NCPCR was empowered to deal with child trafficking in any state even if the state child protection panel was informed of the matter.