Submit report on custody of infant 'sold' by addict parents: HC

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today sought a comprehensive report from Punjab on the present custody and welfare status of a five-month-old child allegedly sold by his drug-addict parents for Rs 1.8 lakh — an incident that has triggered a broader judicial scrutiny into the state’s handling of Punjab’s spiralling drug crisis.

Taking up a public interest litigation (PIL), the Bench examined the petitioner’s assertion that the episode was not an aberration but a “grim manifestation” of an epidemic that has “devoured the moral, social and economic fabric” of Punjab. The petition, moved by retired boxing coach and social activist Labh Singh through senior counsel Baltej Singh Sidhu, sought a direction to the State to adopt strict and effective measures to eradicate the menace.

The court told the State to file its report specifically on the well-being of the minor, after the petitioner highlighted that the FIR, dated October 25 registered at the Bareta police station in Mansa district, recorded the sale of the infant by the couple merely to satisfy their addiction. The petition stressed that the foremost concern must be ensuring the child was not denied “the warmth of his mother’s lap and the nourishment of her milk”, and urged the state to secure his health, dignity, and long-term rehabilitation along with that of his parents.

The PIL cited consecutive media reports, including in The Tribune dated October 25 and The Sunday Tribune dated October 26, documenting the incident. It pointed out that despite slogans, special drives and repeated assurances by successive governments, the authorities had failed to discharge their constitutional obligation under Article 21 to protect citizens’ right to life and dignity.

The petitioner asserted that the state’s inability to curb drug trafficking and addiction had created conditions where extreme tragedies such as the sale of an infant could occur. The matter will be heard on November 18 now.