Top court sends notices to Centre, states

ON BEING INFORMED THAT CHILDREN WERE BEING TRAFFICKED FROM ORPHANAGES, SC SAID A CHILD CAN’T BE BARTERED AT WHIMS OF THOSE IN CHARGE OF THESE CARE CENTRES

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 orphanages. The person concerned may be liable for violation of human rights,” read the order passed by a CJI Dipak Misra-headed bench as it brought the rules related to functioning of orphanages in various states under its scrutiny. The SC made the observation after the issue of children being trafficked from a Kolkata 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 dignity 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 trafficking in West Bengal since the state commission had already been apprised of the situation.

Additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta 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.

Mehta told the court that the issue of trafficking of children as young as two or three years “is very grave and has acquired a pan India nature”.