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2021 Supreme(SC) 1222

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
L. Nageswara Rao, Aniruddha Bose, JJ.
In Re Contagion Of Covid 19 Virus In Children Protection Homes - Petitioner
SMW©No.4 Of 2020
Decided On : 26-08-2021

Advocates Appeared:
For the parties : By Courts Motion Mr. Gaurav Agrawal, AOR (A.C.)
FOR NCPCR : Mr. K. M. Nataraj, Ld. ASG Ms. Swarupama Chaturvedi, AOR Mr. Ashutosh Mohan, Adv. Ms. Indira Bhakar Adv. Mr. Vinayak Sharma, Adv. Mr. Vatsal Joshi, 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 Ms. Srishti Agnihotri, AOR
State of Chhattisgarh : Mr. Sumeer Sodhi AOR Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh, AAG Mr. Arjun Nanda,Adv. Ms. Shreya Nair, Adv. H.C.of Chhattisgarh Mr. Apoorv Kurup, AOR Ms. Nidhi Mittal, Adv.
State of W.B. : Mr. Suhaan Mukerji, Adv. Ms. Liz Mathew, Adv. Mr. Vishaal Prasad, Adv. Mr. Nikhil Parikshith,Adv. Mr. Abhishek Manchanda,Adv. Mr. Sayandeep Pahari, Adv. PLR Chambers & Co.
State of Mizoram : 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 Ms. Palak Mahajan, Adv. Ms. Ragini Pandey, Adv.
State of Assam : 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 : Mr. K.V. Jagdishvaran, Adv. Ms. G. Indira, AOR Mr. P. Gandeepan, Adv.
State of Bihar : Mr. Manish Kumar, AOR
State of H.P. : Mr. Himanshu Tyagi, AOR
State of Arunachal Pradesh : Mr. Pai Amit, AOR Ms. Eliza Bar, Adv.
State of Manipur : Mr. Pukhrambam Ramesh Kumar, AOR Ms. Anupama Ngangom, Adv. Mr. Karun Sharma, Adv. 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 Mr. Sachin Patil, 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. Kabir Shankar Bose,Adv.
State of Gujarat : Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, Adv.
State of Meghalaya : Mr. Amit Kumar, AG Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR Mr. T.K. Nayak, Adv. Mr. K.V. Kharlyngdoh, 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
State of U.P. : Ms. Garima Prashad, Sr. Adv./AAG Mr. Rohit K. Singh, Adv. 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. Rahul Chitnis, Adv. Mr. Sachin Patil AOR. 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. Narendra Kumar, AOR
State of M.P. : Mr. Pulkit Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Pashupati Nath Razdan, AOR. Mr. Ashutosh Kumar, Adv. Ms. Maitreyee Jagat Joshi, Adv. Mr. K.P. Jayram, Adv.
Guwahati H.C. : Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, AOR
U.T. of Chandigarh : Mr. Ankit Goel, AOR Ms. Shobha Gupta, AOR Ms. Medha Garg, Adv. 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. Manoj Swarup, AOR Mr. Abhishek Swarup, Adv. Ms. Lalita Kohli, Adv. Dr. K.S. Bhati, Adv. M/S. Manoj Swarup And Co., AOR

Headnote:(A) Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 - Section 36 - Covid-19 pandemic impact on orphans and children losing parents - States directed to identify orphans and ensure educational continuance - Emphasis on duty of States for children’s welfare and implementation of schemes. (Paras 1-36)

(B) Right to Education - Article 21A of the Constitution guarantees free and compulsory education to children, necessitating State action for educational continuity. (Paras 2, 28, 32)

Facts of the case:
The Supreme Court examined responses from various State Governments regarding orphans and children who lost parents due to Covid-19 and the schemes for their rehabilitation and education. Reports indicated significant identification of affected children and ongoing schemes for assistance. The court directed adherence to statutory obligations for education and care.

Findings of Court:
Court affirmed that the States must ensure educational needs are met without disruption, summarizing plans for financial aid and educational provisions set forth by various states.

Issues: The main queries involved the efficacy of State actions to protect and educate children affected by the pandemic.

Ratio Decidendi: The court emphasized the constitutional obligation to support children's education and mandated swift completion of inquiries and implementation of welfare schemes by States.

Result: States directed to fulfill educational and welfare responsibilities for identified children.

Table of Content
1. importance of identifying and supporting orphaned children. (Para 1 , 2)
2. government's schemes to provide education and support to affected children. (Para 3 , 4)
3. clarification regarding the criteria for support. (Para 5)
4. responses from state governments regarding the identification of orphans. (Para 6 , 7 , 8)
5. court's directives to state governments for timely action. (Para 9)
6. challenges and responses in different states regarding orphan identification. (Para 10 , 11 , 12)
7. state responsibilities towards educational support for orphans. (Para 13 , 14)
8. ongoing efforts and recommendations for better support. (Para 15 , 16)
9. directions given to streamline orphan care. (Para 17 , 18)
10. educational continuity measures for orphans and affected children. (Para 19 , 20)
11. final declaration on the need for timely measures. (Para 21)
12. aggregate state responses and implementations updates. (Para 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26)
13. details regarding the ongoing support by various states. (Para 27 , 28 , 29)
14. measures and recommendations for states lacking proper responses. (Para 30 , 31 , 32)
15. status updates and directives for states to speed up the inquiries. (Para 33 , 34 , 35)
16. conclusion emphasizing the urgency of educational continuity. (Para 36 , 37)

ORDER :

On 27.07.2021, information was sought from all the State Governments/Union Territories regarding the identification of orphans and children who have lost either parent after March, 2020 and the stages of inquiries undertaken by the Child Welfare Committee (‘CWC’) in accordance with the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (‘the Act’). The State Governments/Union Territories were also asked to furnish information relating to schemes that have been announced for the benefit of such children and the implementation of those schemes. The State Governments/Union Territories were further directed to provide information relating to the education of the distraught children and their continuation in the schools in which they are studying for the present academic year.

2. The catastrophe caused by the cataclysmic Covid19 has devastated many lives, especially children at a tender age who have lost their parents. More than a lakh children have lost either or both parents during this pandemic. It is heart-wrenching to note that the survival of so many children is at stake. We are glad that the UOI and the State Governments / Union Territories have announced schemes to provide succour to the children in need. We have no doubt that the authorities concerned would leave no stone unturned to attend to the immediate basic needs of the crestfallen children. Satisfactory progress has been made by the executive in identification of the orphans and those children who have lost a parent during the pandemic. Preparation of Social Investigation Reports and Individual Care Plans is also on track. Inquiries by CWCs have to be expedited to identify children in need of care and protection and immediate steps have to be taken to ensure that the benefits of schemes reach the needy children. All children have a constitutional right to free and compulsory elementary education which is guaranteed by Article 21A of the Constitution of India. The State has a duty and obligation to facilitate education for children. We have no doubt that the State realizes the importance of continuance of education of the forlorn children.

3. Ms.Aishwarya Bhati, the learned ASG, on instructions, submitted that the education of eligible children up to 18 years is sought to be provided for under the PM CARES For Children - Empowerment of COVID Affected Children, launched for support and empowerment of Covid-19 affected children. According to the said scheme, beneficiaries shall be given admission in the nearest Kendriya Vidyalaya or in a private school as a day scholar. On admission of the child in a private school, fees as per the RTE norms will be given from the

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