Improve child labourers’ rehabilitation, court tells Delhi
By IANSWednesday, January 12, 2011
NEW DELHI - The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed the Delhi government to take proper action for the rehabilitation of child labourers and prevent them from being taken to police stations after rescue.
The division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjeev Khanna issued directives to the government to step up checks and raids to check child labour.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
“Delhi police should not take (custody of )children rescued from labour and they should also not be taken to police stations as a matter rule,” said the bench.
The court added that in case of trafficked child labour, a first information report (FIR) should be lodged under penal provisions pertaining to kidnapping, abduction, deceit and wrongful confinement.
The FIR should be in addition to prosecution under the Child Labour (prohibition and regulation) Act, 1986, the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act, 1976 and the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act, 2000.
“There is no guarantee that all rescued child labourers have been successfully restored to their families in the source states. This is evident from a study of 22 rescued child labourers in which it was found that three are not traceable and addresses of four children were wrong,” the NCPRC said in its affidavit.
It said that efforts to rescue child labourers were not being taken up seriously by the the labour department and sub-divisional magistrates.
“See that there is no media - print or electronic - present during raids and rescue operations, in order to avoid unnecessary exposure of the children involved,” said the bench.
The education department and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) should make arrangements in all schools in Jahangirpuri area to admit rescued children and impart special training, the court said.
The bench issued directions to the women and child development department to provide financial support to NGOs for upkeep of rescued children towards board and lodging.
The NGOs could be given “Rs.750 per child per month on production of directives from child welfare committee (CWC)”, said the bench.
The affidavit was filed to inform the court about the steps taken by the government after a slew of directions were given by the court in 2009 for the rescue and rehabilitation of child labourers in the city.
The court also asked the labour departments of various states including Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarkhand, to post an officer in their respective offices in the capital for rehabilitation of the rescued child labourers.
