"Nerve Shocking": Rajasthan High Court Takes Suo Moto Cognizance Of Widow Living Roadside With Children, Orders Protection

Rajasthan High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of a “nerve shocking, heartbreaking and society rocking” news report published in a regional daily, dated September 25, 2024, about the distressing situation of a widow living in a roadside tent with 4 minor children, including two daughters.

The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand observed that poor implementation of laws and schemes was creating such situations and directed the State Government to provide proper care, protection and attention to the children and the lady as per the provisions of law.

The Court observed that as per the report, the widow had submitted an application to the Child Welfare Committee expressing her fear of some potential unwarranted and untoward incident with her daughters and seeking safe shelter for her children. However, the issue was ignored, and no heed was paid to the application till date.

Highlighting the significance of protecting child rights, the Court laid down all the articles under the Constitution of India that gear towards this objective, including, Article 15 and Article 21 from the Fundamental Rights as well as Article 39 from the DPSPs. It was further opined that protection of child rights is not merely a legal obligation but a moral one.

“Protecting children's right is not just a legal obligation, it's a moral imperative that directly impacts the future of our society. In India, millions of children face challenges that threaten their safety, well-being and development. The right of protection includes freedom from all forms of exploitation, violence, abuse and inhumane or degrading treatment.”

Furthermore, the Court also took into account various schemes at the Central as well as the State level launched for the purpose of child protection in India including Mission Vatsalya (2002), Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (2010), Department of Child Rights established in 2013 by Rajasthan as a separate and independent department to address child rights. However, as opined by Court, despite having several Child Laws and Policies, there has been a failure on part of the State in discharging its duties in letter and spirit of the legislation.

“Taking a serious note of the situation, this Court treat the newspaper report as a suo motu writ petition and direct the Registry to treat the newspaper report published in the Rajasthan Patrika Newspaper as a Public Interest Litigation titled as:- Suo Motu : In the matter of Children in need, care and protection.”

Accordingly, directions have been issued to the State Government to provide adequate protection to the widow and her children. Further, the Court has also summoned reports from the State Government about the effective steps taken by the State and the Union for protection of children from all kinds of abuse and providing shelter homes, education and other facilities to such children who are living on the roadside.

Title: Suo Motu- In the matter of Children in need, care and protection

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