The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, asked states and Union territories to act against NGOs that are indulging in illegal adoption of children who have been orphaned by the pandemic.
A bench of Justice L. Nageswara Rao and Justice Aniruddha Bose, also said NGOs should not be allowed to collect funds by disclosing identities of such children, while taking up an application filed by amicus curiae advocate Gaurav Agarwal who has been assisting the apex court on a suo moto regarding children in shelter homes across the country. In the application, Agarwal flagged concerns over children, who have lost both the parents to the pandemic, falling prey to child trafficking.
"The state governments/Union territories are directed to take action against those NGOs/individuals who are indulging in illegal adoptions. No adoption of affected children should be permitted contrary to the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, 2015," ANI quoted the apex court as saying in its order.
The court said upon receiving the information of the death of a parent/parents, the district child protection unit (DCPU) should contact the child and his/her guardian.
"Assessment shall be made about the suitability and willingness of the guardian to take care of the child. The DCPU should ensure that adequate provisions are made for ration, food, medicine, clothing, etc. for the affected child. Financial assistance to which the disconsolate child is entitled to under the prevailing schemes by the Central government and the state governments/Union territories should be provided without any delay," the court said.
Court said District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) should furnish a phone number of the local official who can be contacted by the guardian and the child and there should be regular follow up on such children. However, if the DCOP realizes that the guardian is unable to take care of the child, the child should be produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) which should look after these children. The CWC has been asked to provide all the financial benefits which the children are entitled to.
Further, the state governments have been directed to ensure continued education of the children.
It is to be noted that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had recently told the apex court that it has been receiving many complaints in the past month or so alleging that there are private people and organisations involved in data collection of children orphaned by the pandemic stating that they want to provide assistance to the children and the families.
These organisations/ people are giving away these orphaned children to families in adoption without following the procedure given under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, it added.
“The Act, besides providing for an extensive procedure for children who have lost family support or are in need of assistance, also provides for an exhaustive procedure for adoption of orphan/abandoned/surrendered children.
"The adoption of orphan/ abandoned/ surrendered children is lawful only after the adoption procedure as given under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 is followed and the final adoption order is passed by the prescribed authority,” NCPCR said.
—With PTI inputs