In Re Contagion of Covid 19 Virus In Children Protection Homes vs .

Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2021 Supreme(SC) 1235

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
L. Nageswara Rao, B.R. Gavai, JJ.
In Re Contagion Of Covid 19 Virus In Children Protection Homes - Petitioner
SMW(C)No.4 Of 2020
Decided On : 26-10-2021

Advocates Appeared:
For the parties : By Courts Motion Mr. Gaurav Agrawal, AOR (A.C.) Ms. Anitha Shenoy,Adv. Ms. Shristi Agnihotri,Adv.
FOR NCPCR : Mr. K. M. Nataraj, Ld. ASG Ms. Swarupama Chaturvedi, AOR Ms. Aparna Trivedi, Adv. Ms. Soumya Kapoor, Adv.
Union of India : Mr. Aishwarya Bhati, ASG Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, Adv Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Adv. Mr. S.S. Rebello, Adv. Ms. Chinmayee Chandra, Adv. Mr. B.V. Balram Das, AOR Mr. G.S. Makker,AOR
M/o Lakshdweep and Daman & Diu & Dagar Nagar Haveli : Mr. Aishwarya Bhati, ASG Mr. S.S. Rebello, Adv. Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Adv. Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, Adv. Ms. Chinmayee Chandra, Adv. Mr. Prashant Singh B, Adv. Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR Mr. Raj Bahadur, AOR
State of Chhattisgarh : Mr. S.C. Verma, AG Mr. Sumeer Sodhi AOR Mr. Arjun Nanda,Adv.
H.C.of Chhattisgarh : Mr. Apoorv Kurup, AOR Ms. Nidhi Mittal, Adv.
State of W.B. : Mr. Suhaan Mukerji, Adv. Mr. Vishaal Prasad, Adv. Mr. Nikhil Parikshith,Adv. Mr. Abhishek Manchanda,Adv. Mr. Sayandeep Pahari, Adv. PLR Chambers & Co.
State of Mizoram : Mr. Siddhesh Kotwal,Adv Ms. Ana Upadhyay, Adv Ms. Manya Hasija,Adv Ms. Pragya Barsaiyan, Adv Mr. Akash Singh, Adv Mr. Nirnimesh Dube, AOR
State of Haryana : Ms. Bansuri Swaraj, AAG Dr. Monika Gusain, AOR
U.T. of J&K : Mr. G.M.Kawoosa,Adv. Ms. Taruna Ardhendhumauli Prasad, Adv. Ms. Pinky Behera, AOR
State of Karnataka : Mr. V. N. Raghupathy, AOR Mr. Md Apzal Ansari, Adv.
State of Assam : Ms. Diksha Rai, AOR Mr. Ankit Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Ragini Pandey, Adv. Mr. Raghvendra Kumar, Adv. Mr. Anand Kumar Dubey, Adv. Mr. Nishant Verma, Adv Mr. Narendra Kumar, AOR
State of A.P. : Mr. Mahfooz A. Nazki, AOR Mr. Polanki Gowtham,Adv. Mr. Shaik Mohamad Haneef,Adv. Mr. T. Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy,Adv. Mr. Amitabh Sinha, Adv. Mr. K.V. Girish Chowdary, Adv.
U.T. of Andaman & Nicobar Islands : Mr. K.K. Mondal, Adv. Mr. K.V. Jagdishvaran, Adv. Ms. G. Indira, AOR Mr. Habilila Nana,Adv.
State of Bihar : Mr. Manish Kumar, AOR
State of H.P. : Mr. Himanshu Tyagi, AOR
State of Arunachal Pradesh : Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, AOR Ms. Eliza Bar, Adv. Mr. Pai Amit, AOR
State of Manipur : Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv. Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv.
HC of Manipur : Mr. Sharan Thakur,Adv. Mr. Mahesh Thakur, AOR Mr. Siddhartha Thakur,Adv. Mr. V.G. Pragasam, AOR
UT of Puducherry : Mr. Aravindh S., AOR Mr. A.Lakshminarayanan Adv
State of Goa : Mr. Arun R. Pedneker, Adv. Ms. Mukti Chowdhary, AOR Dr. Abhishek Atrey, AOR
State of Kerala : Mr. G. Prakash, AOR Ms. Priyanka Prakash, Adv. Ms. Beena Prakash, Adv.
State of Odisha : Dr. Anindita Pujari, AOR Mr. Om Narayan Pandey, Adv.
State of Tripura : Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, AOR Mr. Ishaan Borthakur, Adv.
State of Gujarat : Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, Adv.
State of Meghalaya : Mr. Amit Kumar, AG Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR Mr. K.V. Kharlyngdoh, Adv. Mr. Upendra Mishra, Adv.
State of Punjab : Ms. Jaspreet Gogia, AOR Ms. Mandakini Singh, Adv. Mr. Karanvir Gogia,Adv. Ms. Shivangi Singhal,Adv. Ms. Ashima Mandla, Adv
State of Rajasthan : Dr. Manish Singhvi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Sandeep Kumar Jha, AOR 5
State of U.P. : Ms. Garima Prashad, Sr. Adv./AAG Mr. Rohit K. Singh, AOR. Mr. Pritam Biswas, Adv. Mr. Akshay Chowdhary, Adv. Mr. Parth Yadav, Adv.
State of Telangana : Mr. S. Udaya Kumar Sagar, AOR Ms. Sweena Nair, Adv.
State of T.N. : Dr. Joseph Aristotle S.,AOR Ms. Preeti Singh, Adv. Ms. Ripul Swati Kumari, Adv. Mr. M.Yogesh Kanna, AOR
State of Nagaland : Ms. K. Enatoli Sema, AOR Mr. Amit Kumar Singh, Adv Ms. Chubalemla Chang, Adv.
NCT Delhi : Mr. Chirag M. Shroff, AOR
State of Mah. : Mr. Sachin Patil AOR. Mr. Rahul Chitnis, Adv. Mr. Aaditya A. Pande, Adv Mr. Geo Joseph,Adv.
State of Jharkhand : Ms. Pragya Baghel, Adv Ms. Pallavi Langar, AOR
State of Uttarakhand : Ms. Rachana Srivastava, AOR Mr. Vikas Negi, Adv.
State of Sikkim : Mr. Raghvendra Kumar, Adv. Mr. Anand Kumar Dubey, Adv. Mr. Nishant Verma, Adv. Mr. Rajiv Kumar Sinha, Adv. Mr. Narendra Kumar, AOR
State of M.P. : Mr. Pulkit Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Pashupati Nath Razdan, AOR. Mr. Ashutosh Kumar, Adv. Ms. Sneh Bairwa, Adv. Mr. Palav Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Sushil Tomar, Adv.
Guwahati, P&H H.C. : Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, AOR
U.T. of Chandigarh : Mr. Ankit Goel, AOR Ms. Shobha Gupta, AOR Mr. Nishant Bahuguna, Adv
I.A.106490/2021 R 3-4 : Mr. Romy Chacko, AOR Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR Ms. Uttara Babbar, AOR M/S. Knc, AOR Mr. Ajay Pal, AOR Mr. Gopal Singh, AOR
Society for Socio Legislative Reforms : Mr. Abhishek Swarup, Adv. Mr. Manoj Swarup, AOR Dr. K.S. Bhati, Adv. Ms. Charu Singhal, Adv. Ms. Lalita Kohli, AOR M/S. Manoj Swarup And Co., AOR Mr. B. V. Balaram Das, AOR Mrs. Swarupama Chaturvedi, AOR Mr. Shekhar Raj Sharma, Dy. AG Mr. Sanjay Kumar Visen, AOR Mr. Bhanwar Jadon, Adv. Ms. Babita Mishra, Adv. Mr. Sibo Sankar Mishra, AOR
2.1 : Ms. Srishti Agnihotri, AOR Mr. Abishek Jebaraj, Adv Ms. Nupur Raut, Adv. Ms. Sanjana Grace Thomas, Adv
2.1 Respondent(s): Mr. Nishanth Patil, AOR Ms. Shubhika Saluja, Adv.

Headnote:(A) Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 - Sections 2(14), 30(xii), and 31(1) - Directions for the completion of inquiries regarding orphans due to Covid-19 and the establishment of a SOP for rehabilitating street children - NCPCR emphasizes rehabilitation for children living on the streets and mandates reports from State Governments on SOP implementation. (Paras 1-10)

(B) Child Welfare Committees are instructed to actively reach out to children in need of care and protection under Section 30(xii) of the JJ Act. (Paras 6-7)

(C) Production of children before Child Welfare Committees is mandated under Section 31(1) of the JJ Act, allowing a variety of authorized individuals to report cases. (Paras 5, 6)

Facts of the case:
The court addressed the plight of children orphaned or impacted by Covid-19 and the operationalization of standards for their rehabilitation.

Findings of Court:
The implementation of the SOP for the rehabilitation of street children requires timely status reports from State Governments, enhancing the provision and care for vulnerable children.

Issues: The court investigated procedural adequacy concerning the care and support to children affected by the pandemic and affirmed the necessary involvement of State systems.

Ratio Decidendi: The court reinforced the obligation of State authorities to comply with statutory mandates for child protection under the JJ Act, ensuring children's rights are prioritized amid the pandemic effects.

Result: Directions issued for compliance by State Governments and timely reporting.

Table of Content
1. directions for inquiries and education of orphans (Para 1)
2. draft sop for child witness evidence recording (Para 2)
3. rehabilitation measures for street children (Para 3)
4. definition and obligations under the jj act (Para 4 , 5)
5. ncpcr's recommendations on data collection for ciss (Para 6 , 7)
6. status reports required from state governments (Para 8 , 9)
7. next court date scheduled (Para 10)

ORDER :

1. On 26.08.2021, directions were given for completion of inquiries by the Child Welfare Committees and continuation of education of children who have become orphans or who have lost an earning parent during Covid19. Affidavits/status reports filed by the State Governments have been received by the Amicus Curiae who requests for a week’s time to examine the status reports and submit a note for consideration of this Court.

2. In respect of the recording of evidence of child witnesses through video conferencing, the learned Amicus Curiae in consultation with Ms. Anitha Shenoy and Ms. Shristi Agnihotri, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, has submitted a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). The draft SOP shall be sent to the State Governments and all the High Courts for their comments. Response may be filed within a period of two weeks from today. The finalization of the SOP shall be taken on 15.11.2021.

3. The learned Amicus Curiae has submitted a note on rehabilitation of street children. He has referred to a Standard Operating Procedure for Care and Protection of Children in Street Situations prepared by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in the year 2020 (NCPCR SOP). In the said document, NCPCR relied upon the National Plan of Action for Children, 2016 and the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 to highlight the need for rehabilitation of Children in Street Situations (CiSS).

4. Section 2 (14) of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) defines “child in need of care and protection”. Clause (ii) thereof includes a child who is found working in contravention of labour laws for the time being in force or is found begging, or living on the street’ within the fold of the definition of “child in need of care and protection”. NCPCR has broadly categorised three types of CiSS, which are:

(a) children without support living on the streets all alone;

(b) children who stay on the streets in the day and are back home in the night with their families who reside in nearby slum/hutments; and

5. Section 31 (1) of the JJ Act provides for production of a child in need of care and protection before the Child Welfare Committee by any of the following persons:

(i) any police officer or special juvenile police unit or a designated Child Welfare Police Officer or any officer of District Child Protection Unit or inspector appointed under any labour law for the time being in force;

(ii) any public servant;

(iii) Childline Services or any voluntary or nongovernmental organisation or any agency as may be recognised by the State Government;

(iv) Child Welfare Officer or probation officer;

(v) any social worker or a public spirited citizen;

(vi) by the child himself; or

(vii) any nurse, doctor or management of a nursing home, hospital or maternity home.

6. Section 30 (xii) of the JJ Act obligates the Child Welfare Committee having information about CiSS within their jurisdiction to reach out to them.

7. The NCPCR has suggested in the SOP that teams can be constituted by statutory bodies like SCPCRs and the district child protection mechanism for conducting survey or adopting other means to collect information/data on Children in Street Situations and carry out rescue operations within the ecosystem created by the JJ Act.

8. Mr. K.M.Nataraj, learned ASG appearing for the NCPCR, submitted that the SOP for rehabilitation of CiSS has been circulated to the State Governments. Information on the implementation of the NC

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Judicial Analysis

2021 Supreme(SC) 1235

SUPREME COURT OF INDIAL. Nageswara Rao, B.R. Gavai, JJ.In Re Contagion Of Covid 19 Virus In Children Protection Homes - PetitionerSMW(C)No.4 Of 2020Decided On : 26-10-2021

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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
L. Nageswara Rao, B.R. Gavai, JJ.
In Re Contagion Of Covid 19 Virus In Children Protection Homes - Petitioner
SMW(C)No.4 Of 2020
Decided On : 26-10-2021