HC pulls up TS for delay in child welfare panels

Gives 2 weeks to make 33 child welfare committees functional

The Telangana High Court on Thursday lamented that the state government has unreasonably delayed notifying the formation of the child welfare committees in all the 33 districts. By doing so, the government turned the committees into namesake and non-functional entities.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy observed: “Why is the Telangana government exhibiting such laxity in implementing orders of the court? The government must be mindful that it is dealing with the causes of children who are the most susceptible section of society and who do not have a voice to raise against the ones forcing them into the prostitution rackets.”

The court gave the government two weeks to make all the 33 child welfare committees functional by appointing members and reporting compliance to the court within four weeks. The bench rejected a request from the government for more time to notify the formation of the committees and made it clear that this process should be completed within two weeks.

The bench was dealing with a batch of six PILs and a writ petition in which the petitioners espoused the cause for protection and rehabilitation of minor

THE CHIEF JUSTICE observed that justice cannot reach the missing children unless the police at the highest level monitored such matters closely.

children who went missing in recent years and ended up in prostitution and other rackets.

While referring to the guidelines and series of directions issued in the case of Sadhan Haldar v GNCT of Delhi by the Delhi High Court in detecting the missing children and reuniting them with their parents, Chief Justice Hima Kohli asked the state government to use the Automated Facial Recognition

System (AFRS) to identify missing children.

The Chief Justice observed that justice cannot reach the missing children unless the police at the highest level monitored such matters closely. Advocate-General B.S. Prasad said the state government was using the Darpan project for the identification process.

“It is necessary to enlist the Union government as a party in such issues of children,” the CJ said and asked for impleading of the Union ministry of women and child welfare as a corespondent. Notices were issued to the ministry as also to the Telangana state government.