State to ensure well being of juveniles in shelter homes:HC
The petitioner had submitted that three inmates of the said shelter home got pregnant, and some of them were subjected to child labour
LUCKNOW Disposing of a PIL seeking directives for a probe into the alleged pregnancy of three inmates of the government-run shelter home for girls at Lucknow’s Motinagar in 2016, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court directed state authorities to ensure the well-being of juveniles residing in shelter homes of the state under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
The court directed that no such incident should reoccur at shelter homes due to lapse and negligence on part of officials who manage these facilities.
“Let a copy of this order be sent to the director, department of women and child welfare by the senior registrar of this court,” the court ordered.
The order was passed by a division bench of justice Rajan Roy and justice Om Prakash Shukla on April 23 on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a local lawyer Nusrat Ali. The petitioner had submitted that three inmates of the said home got pregnant, and some of them were subjected to child labour. The petitioner had sought directives for a probe into the incident by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The court had sought a reply from the state counsel in the matter. In response, the state counsel informed that three girls were found to be pregnant while residing in the shelter home at Motinagar. Two of them were major and one a juvenile.
The juvenile was a victim of sexual exploitation, and her pregnancy was a result of an incident prior to her coming to the home, said the counsel.
As regards the second girl, who was a major, her pregnancy was also a result of some relationship prior to her coming to the shelter home. However, the third girl, also a major, became pregnant while residing in the home as she was in a relationship with a man. In her case, disciplinary proceedings were initiated, and three personnel, who were responsible for managing and looking after the affairs of the shelter home, were suspended, added the counsel.
Out of these three, services of one of the nurses were terminated and the other was inflicted with the punishment of stoppage of two annual increments with non-cumulative effect and the third person was exonerated, the state counsel said.
The state counsel further informed that after the incident, proper care was being taken so that no such incident occurs, and 32 CCTV cameras had also been installed at the shelter home.
The court said: “In view of the above, we do not see any reason to proceed with the matter any further and we dispose of this petition with the observation/direction that the state authorities shall ensure well-being of juveniles residing in juvenile homes under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.”
