SC warns against illegal adoption of Covid orphans
The Supreme Court has directed the state governments and Union Territories administrations to take action against NGOs and individuals indulging in collecting money in the names of children orphaned or those who lost one of the parents to Covid pandemic by disclosing their identity and inviting interested people to adopt them.
“The State governments/Union Territories are directed to take action against those NGOs/individuals who are indulging in illegal adoptions. No adoption of affected children should be permitted contrary to the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, 2015,” said a vacation bench comprising Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice Aniruddha Bose in its order.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) data shows that 3,621 children were orphaned, 26,176 children lost either parent and 274 children were abandoned between April 1, 2021 to June 5, 2021.
The NCPCR had sounded the alarm after it got a number of complaints about illegal adoption of children orphaned by Covid through private individuals and organisations. The NCPCR told the top court that it received many complaints in May, 2021, that private individuals and organisations have been actively collecting data on these children while claiming that they want to assist families and children in the adoption of these children.
The top court also directed that financial assistance to which the disconsolate child is entitled to under the prevailing schemes by the central government and the state governments/Union
Territories should be provided without any delay. The court also directed the state governments/Union Territories to ensure continuance of education of the children, studying in government as well as private schools.