Rs 5L cost slapped on CWC for wrongly sending minor to govt children’s home
PRAYAGRAJ: The Allahabad high court has imposed cost of Rs 5 lakh on Nari Niketan/Child Welfare Committee, Kanpur Nagar for sending a child to government children’s home in a casual manner though her father was ready to take her custody and look after her.
The court also handed over the custody of the minor to her father with whom she was living for the past many years and the minor had also expressed her will before the court to live with her father. The court further directed that if the cost of Rs five lakh was not paid to the petitioner by the next date of hearing , the commissioner of police, Kanpur Nagar shall ensure that the chairman of Nari Niketan / Child Welfare Committee, Kanpur Nagar will remain present in the court on the next date of hearing.
The bench comprising justices Arvind Singh Sangwan and Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra passed the order on a petition filed by the father (Kailash Raj) of the minor girl.
Thelived with her father for the past few years and recently her mother, who was living separately, filed a petition seeking her custody . Due to the legal tussle between the parents regarding custody of the child, the child welfare committee sent the girl to a local government children’s home.
The court observed, “Most surprising and shocking part is the manner in which the Nari Niketan/Child Welfare Committee, Kanpur Nagar has kept the minor child in government children home (women) which is a place where normally children, whose parents are not eager to claim the custody of the child are kept. The father admittedly is capable of taking care of the minor daughter and has had her custody for the past many years .”“On the last date, a specific direction was issued to the child welfare committee, Kanpur to send an authorized representative along with an affidavit as to how and in what manner the girl child was sent to Nari Niketan / Child Welfare Committee (women),” observed the bench while imposing a cost of Rs 5 lakh as no one was present in court on behalf of the committee.