Orphanages, adoption under Supreme Court scanner for child trafficking

The Supreme Court on Thursday initiated a process to look into the working of orphanages across the country, saying the nation’s future depended on the destiny of its children and nothing can be more disastrous than them being sold.

Expanding the scope of a petition filed by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which pertained to alleged trafficking of children in West Bengal, a three-judge bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra asked the states to apprise it about the running of orphanages, treatment given to the children in these centres and method of adoption followed. The court stayed an order of Calcutta High Court, restraining the national commission from acting on instances of alleged child trafficking in the state.

Using the line, “the child is the father of man”, the bench referred to a 1996 order of the court dealing with child protection. The bench said the court was conscious in that case that children should not be compelled to work in factories. “That being the position, when the children are sold, nothing can be more disastrous than this… A right of a child in a society is sacred, for the future of the country depends upon the character and the destiny of the child and the State has a great role in that regard. It is in the realm of protection,” it underlined.

“In view of the aforesaid, it is necessary to have a comprehensive view of the entire country pertaining to running of orphanages, the mode and method of adoption, the care given and the treatment meted out to the children. For the said purpose, it is necessary that all the States shall be added as respondents in the matter”, the court said and gave the states two months to respond after they are arrayed as parties.

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