The Delhi High Court on Friday sought responses from the Centre and the Delhi Government upon a plea filed by the mother of a minor girl alleging that the girl was subjected to cruelty and was indoctrinated in another religion while she was in the care and protection of a Child Care Institution.
The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice in a petition challenging several provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the Model Rules, 2016, framed thereunder pertaining to the composition, powers and functions of the Child Welfare Committee.
The matter has been slated for next hearing on April 29, 2022.
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The instant petition has been filed by Advocate Dibyanshu Pandey, on behalf of the mother of a minor girl, who was alleged to be abused and forced to convert her religion in a Child Care Institution (CCI) where she was placed by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) established under the JJ Act.
The plea points out that the girl was trapped by social workers of two NGOs on false allegations of sexual abuse. The child was produced before the CWC, which “arbitrarily” remanded her to a CCI, wherein the girl is alleged to have been abused and exploited for more than five months and was also indoctrinated in another religion.
In light thereof, the plea challenges the arbitrary powers conferred on the CWC under the JJ Act and the rules made thereunder to the extent that there is no mechanism for intervention by concerned authorities in relation to a child who has been subjected to cruelty in CCI causing denial of justice to the all the children who are placed under the care and protection of such institutions. The plea prayed for a compensation to the tune of rupees five crores for violation of the fundamental rights of the petitioner and her minor daughter.
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The plea avers thus:
“The scheme of reporting of cases of cruelty committed against a child inside Child Care Institution vide Rule 76 (2) (i) & Rule 76 (2) (ii) of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules, 2016 is arbitrary as the people responsible for violation of rights are entrusted with exclusive responsibility of reporting the same and the same is blatant denial of justice to the child who is under complete control of the offenders.”
“The exclusive power to deal with all proceedings relating to children in need of care and protection conferred on the Child Welfare Committee vide Section 29 (2) of the JJ Act is arbitrary in view of the fact that the custody of the child, responsibility of ensuring protection of child in CCI through a member of CWC in the Management Committee of the CCI, power to report incidences of cruelty and exploitation inside CCI, power to take cognizance of such offences, power to inquire into such incidences, acting on behalf of the child and power to provide alternative rehabilitation for the child when the child is subjected to cruelty in CCI is exclusively concentrated in the hands of the Executive,”
-adds the plea.