The Rajasthan High Court recently took suo motu cognisance of newspaper report that highlighted the dire situation of a widow living in a roadside tent with her four minor children including two daughters.
The Court took note of a news report published on September 25 in a local newspaper, Rajasthan Patrika, which highlighted the distressing plight of the widow and her children.
Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand termed the report heartbreaking and observed that it showcased the poor implementation of welfare laws.
"Poor implementation of laws and schemes is creating such situations in the State that a widow lady, residing at footpath in a tent, having four minor children, including two daughters," the October 1 order said.
Justice Dhand also noted that the woman was reported to have submitted an application to the Child Welfare Committee, expressing concern for her daughters and requesting safe shelter for her children. However, the matter was neglected, and no attention has been given to the application to date.
The Court proceeded to initiate a public interest litigation (PIL) case in the matter and asked the State and Central government authorities to respond in two weeks on what measures have been taken to implement child welfare laws.
It also directed the State to provide proper care, protection and attention to the children and their widowed mother in the meantime.
The Court considered various child protection schemes, including Mission Vatsalya (2002), the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (2010), and the Department of Child Rights (2013).
However, it noted that the State had failed to fulfill its duties under these laws and schemes.
The Court further noted that children under 18 years of age comprise 39 per cent of India's population, while in Rajasthan, they constitute 43.6 per cent of the demographic.
Despite various policies aimed at children's development and rights protection - including the establishment of the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in 2010 - the State has struggled to implement these measures fully, it was added.
It proceeded to seek reports from the State and Union governments regarding the measures taken to protect children from abuse, as well as to provide shelter, education, and other facilities for children living on roadsides.
This Court also requested assistance in the matter from Senior Advocate Virendra Lodha, advocates Sunil Samdaria and Sonal Singh, Additional Advocate General Manoj Sharma and Additional Solicitor General RD Rastogi.
The matter is listed next on October 16.
[Read Order]