SC slams Bengal over Covid orphan figures

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was not prepared to believe that in a big state such as West Bengal, only 27 children lost both parents due to Covid-19 since April 1, 2020, and called for a response by the secretary of the state women and child welfare department to give the correct particulars.

The figure came to light in an affidavit filed by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in a suo motu petition heard by the top court for identification and rehabilitation of children who lost either or both their parents during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The NCPCR pointed out that from April 1, 2020 till July 23, 2021, the special portal of NCPCR called ‘Balswaraj’ obtained details of 6,855 orphans, 68,218

NEW DELHI:

children who lost one parent, and 247 who were abandoned.

West Bengal reported 27 orphans, 1,020 children who lost a parent, and three who were abandoned. Additional solicitor general KM Nataraj termed this figure “unrealistic”. A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose said, “The information that is filtering to us does not appear to be credible and reliable. We are not prepared to believe this figure that in a big state like West Bengal, only 27 children were orphaned.”

Advocate Sayandeep Pahari, appearing for Bengal, said it was an ongoing exercise. The bench said, “If you are steadfast in saying 27 children became orphans in such a big state, we can order an enquiry from an outside agency.” Later, advocate Suhaan Mukherjee appeared for the state and sought an opportunity to come with updated figures.