Amid virus threat, SC takes cognisance of child homes

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 2

The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of condition of minors lodged in Children’s Protection Homes who are vulnerable to infection in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

A Bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao will take up the matter on Friday. There are roughly 9,000 such protection/ care/ observation homes across India where children in conflict with law and destitute children are kept.

The top court had on March 18 expressed concern over non-supply of mid-day meal to millions of children as schools were shut due to the pandemic.

“Non-supply of nutritional food to the children as well as lactating and nursing mothers may lead to large-scale malnourishment. Particularly, children and lactating and nursing mothers in rural as well as tribal area are prone to such malnourishment. Such malnutrition may affect their immunity system and as such, such children and lactating and nursing mothers would be more prone to catch the infection,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde had said. It had sought responses from the Centre, states and union territories on the issue.

The top court had also taken suo motu cognisance of the condition of prisoners and ordered measures to prevent spread of Covid-19 in jails.

On March 23, a CJI-led Bench had directed states and union territories to constitute a high-powered committee to consider granting parole or interim bail to convicts and undertrials to prevent the spread of the virus in jails.

Prisoners convicted or charged with offences attracting maximum jail term up to seven years can be considered for this exercise aimed at de-congesting jails, it had said.

It had stopped forthwith physical presence of undertrials before courts and ordered that video-conferencing must be resorted to for such purposes.