1. Identification and welfare of children who became orphans or lost a parent after March 2020 — Compliance with directions to upload data on the Bal Swaraj Portal. (Para 1 , 2 )
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2021 Supreme(SC) 1229
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
L. Nageswara Rao, Aniruddha Bose, JJ.
In Re Contagion Of Covid 19 Virus In Children Protection Homes - Appellant
SMW (Civil) No(s). 4 Of 2020
Decided On : 27-07-2021
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. Sanat Garg, Adv. Ms. Neha Rai, Adv.
Union of India : Mr. Aishwarya Bhati, ASG Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, Adv Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Adv. Mr. B.V. Balram Das, AOR Mr. S.S. Rebello, Adv. Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Adv. Mr. Prashant Singh B, Adv. Mr. G.S. Makker,Adv. Mr. Raj Bahadur, AOR Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR Ms. Anitha Shenoy,Sr.Adv. Ms. Srishti Agnihotri, AOR Mr. Abhishek Jebaraj,Adv. Ms. Sanjana Grace Thomas,Adv. Ms. Anmol Gupta,Adv. Mr. Chandratanay Chaube, Adv.
State of Chhattisgarh : Mr. Sumeer Sodhi AOR Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh, AAG Mr. Arjun Nanda,Adv. Mr. Nishant Patil, AOR
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. 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. Mr. Parth Awasthi, Adv. Ms. Shashi Juneja, Adv. Ms. Pinky Behera, AOR Mr. G. M. Kawoosa, Adv.
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. 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. Mr. Shrey Sharma,Adv
U.T. of Andaman & Nicobar : Mr. K.K. Mondal, Adv. Mr. K.V. Jagdishvaran, Adv. Ms. G. Indira, AOR
State of Bihar : Mr. Manish Kumar, AOR
State of H.P. : Mr. Himanshu Tyagi, AOR
State of Arunachal Pradesh : Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, Adv. Ms. Eliza Bar, Adv. Mr. Pai Amit, AOR
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.
U.T. of Puducherry Mr. V.G. Pragasam, AOR Mr. S. Prabhu Ramasubramanian, Adv. Mr. Aravindh S., AOR
State of Goa : Mr. Arun R. Pedneker, Adv. Ms. Mukti Chowdhary, AOR Dr. Abhishek Atrey, AOR
State of Kerala : Mr. Jishnu M.L., Adv. Ms. Priyanka Prakash, Adv. Ms. Beena Prakash, Adv. Mr. G. Prakash, AOR
State of Odisha : Mr. Sibo Sankar Mishra AOR
State of Odisha : Dr. Anindita Pujari, AOR Mr. Om Narayan, Adv. Ms. Harpreet Kaur, Adv.
State of Tripura : Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, Adv. Mr. Kabir Shankar Bose,Adv.
State of Gujarat : Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, Adv. Ms. Vishakha,Adv. Mr. A. P. Mayee, Adv.
State of Meghalaya : Mr. Amit Kumar, AG Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR Mr. T.K. Nayak, Adv. Mr. P.S. Negi, 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, Adv.
State of U.P. : Ms. Garima Prashad, Sr. Adv./AAG Mr. Rohit K. Singh, Adv.
State of Telangana : Mr. S. Udaya Kumar Sagar, AOR Ms. Sweena Nair, Adv.
State of T.N. : Dr. Joseph Aristotle S.,AOR Mr. Saaketh Kasibhatla, Adv. Mr. D.Kumanan,AOR Mr. Balaji Srinivasan, AAG Mr. M.Yogesh Kanna, AOR Mr. Raja Rajeswaran.S,Adv. Mr. Aditya Chada,Adv. Ms. Uma Prasuna Bachu, Adv.
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
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, Adv. Ms. Maitreyee Jagat Joshi, Adv.
H.C. of Guwahati : Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, AOR
U.T. of Chandigarh : Mr. Ankit Goel, AOR Mr. B.K. Mishra, Adv. Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari,AOR Ms. Shobha Gupta, Adv. Ms. Medha Garg, Adv. Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR Ms. Uttara Babbar, AOR M/S. Knc, AOR Mr. Ajay Pal, AOR Mr. Gopal Singh, AOR Mr. Manoj Swarup, AOR Mr. Abhishek Swarup, Adv. Ms. Lalita Kohli, Adv. Dr. K.S. Bhati, Adv. M/S. Manoj Swarup And Co., AOR
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. Sanat Garg, Adv. Ms. Neha Rai, Adv.
Union of India : Mr. Aishwarya Bhati, ASG Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, Adv Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Adv. Mr. B.V. Balram Das, AOR Mr. S.S. Rebello, Adv. Ms. Swati Ghildiyal, Adv. Mr. Prashant Singh B, Adv. Mr. G.S. Makker,Adv. Mr. Raj Bahadur, AOR Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR Ms. Anitha Shenoy,Sr.Adv. Ms. Srishti Agnihotri, AOR Mr. Abhishek Jebaraj,Adv. Ms. Sanjana Grace Thomas,Adv. Ms. Anmol Gupta,Adv. Mr. Chandratanay Chaube, Adv.
State of Chhattisgarh : Mr. Sumeer Sodhi AOR Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh, AAG Mr. Arjun Nanda,Adv. Mr. Nishant Patil, AOR
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. 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. Mr. Parth Awasthi, Adv. Ms. Shashi Juneja, Adv. Ms. Pinky Behera, AOR Mr. G. M. Kawoosa, Adv.
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. 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. Mr. Shrey Sharma,Adv
U.T. of Andaman & Nicobar : Mr. K.K. Mondal, Adv. Mr. K.V. Jagdishvaran, Adv. Ms. G. Indira, AOR
State of Bihar : Mr. Manish Kumar, AOR
State of H.P. : Mr. Himanshu Tyagi, AOR
State of Arunachal Pradesh : Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, Adv. Ms. Eliza Bar, Adv. Mr. Pai Amit, AOR
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.
U.T. of Puducherry Mr. V.G. Pragasam, AOR Mr. S. Prabhu Ramasubramanian, Adv. Mr. Aravindh S., AOR
State of Goa : Mr. Arun R. Pedneker, Adv. Ms. Mukti Chowdhary, AOR Dr. Abhishek Atrey, AOR
State of Kerala : Mr. Jishnu M.L., Adv. Ms. Priyanka Prakash, Adv. Ms. Beena Prakash, Adv. Mr. G. Prakash, AOR
State of Odisha : Mr. Sibo Sankar Mishra AOR
State of Odisha : Dr. Anindita Pujari, AOR Mr. Om Narayan, Adv. Ms. Harpreet Kaur, Adv.
State of Tripura : Mr. Shuvodeep Roy, Adv. Mr. Kabir Shankar Bose,Adv.
State of Gujarat : Ms. Deepanwita Priyanka, Adv. Ms. Vishakha,Adv. Mr. A. P. Mayee, Adv.
State of Meghalaya : Mr. Amit Kumar, AG Mr. Avijit Mani Tripathi, AOR Mr. T.K. Nayak, Adv. Mr. P.S. Negi, 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, Adv.
State of U.P. : Ms. Garima Prashad, Sr. Adv./AAG Mr. Rohit K. Singh, Adv.
State of Telangana : Mr. S. Udaya Kumar Sagar, AOR Ms. Sweena Nair, Adv.
State of T.N. : Dr. Joseph Aristotle S.,AOR Mr. Saaketh Kasibhatla, Adv. Mr. D.Kumanan,AOR Mr. Balaji Srinivasan, AAG Mr. M.Yogesh Kanna, AOR Mr. Raja Rajeswaran.S,Adv. Mr. Aditya Chada,Adv. Ms. Uma Prasuna Bachu, Adv.
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
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, Adv. Ms. Maitreyee Jagat Joshi, Adv.
H.C. of Guwahati : Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari, AOR
U.T. of Chandigarh : Mr. Ankit Goel, AOR Mr. B.K. Mishra, Adv. Mr. Abhimanyu Tewari,AOR Ms. Shobha Gupta, Adv. Ms. Medha Garg, Adv. Ms. Astha Sharma, AOR Ms. Uttara Babbar, AOR M/S. Knc, AOR Mr. Ajay Pal, AOR Mr. Gopal Singh, AOR Mr. Manoj Swarup, AOR Mr. Abhishek Swarup, Adv. Ms. Lalita Kohli, Adv. Dr. K.S. Bhati, Adv. M/S. Manoj Swarup And Co., AOR
The Court mandated the urgent identification and rehabilitation of children orphaned or partially orphaned after March 2020 via grassroots networks and the 'Bal Swaraj' Portal, ensuring their right to continued education in current schools or free admission under the Right to Education Act, 2009.
Headnote:(A) Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 - Sections 31, 32, 36, 37, 38, 106, 107 - Disaster Management Act, 2005 - Section 12(ii) - Directions issued for the identification of children orphaned or lost a parent due to COVID-19, with mandates for state authorities to upload information on 'Bal Swaraj' Portal and implement welfare schemes (Paras 1-13).
(B) Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 - Assurance of continued educational access for orphaned children across private and government schools, with directives for their free admission if required (Paras 14).
Facts of the case:
The Court focuses on the welfare and educational needs of children who have become orphans post-March 2020, emphasizing the prompt identification and benefits provision by State Governments.
Findings of Court:
State Governments are mandated to identify orphans, report data on the Portal, and ensure educational continuity.
Issues: Identification of orphaned children and ensuring their welfare and education.
Ratio Decidendi: The Court mandated immediate action from state authorities to ensure welfare provisions for orphans, emphasizing the urgent need for a systematic identification process without delays.
Result: The Court directed the concerned authorities to act within specified timelines and report back on compliance.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Table of Contents
2. Dispute over identification scope (COVID-only vs all causes) — Necessity of grassroots involvement and adherence to the Juvenile Justice Act for timely production before CWCs. (Para 3 , 4 , 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 )
3. Identification of orphans must be comprehensive and not limited to COVID-19 deaths — Existing mechanisms under the Juvenile Justice Act and various schemes must be fully operationalized. (Para 5 , 11 )
4. State authorities must ensure comprehensive identification of orphans through multi-agency coordination and guarantee their educational continuity under the Right to Education Act. (Para 11 , 14 )
5. District Magistrates directed to identify orphans and upload data; CWCs to complete inquiries; States to ensure educational continuity and file status reports. (Para 5 , 6 , 7 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 )
6. Does the requirement to identify orphans apply only to those who lost parents due to COVID-19?
No, the court clarified that identification is not restricted to deaths due to COVID-19 but includes all children who became orphans or lost either parent after March 2020. (Para 5 , 11 )
7. What mechanisms should District Magistrates use to identify orphans?
District Magistrates should utilize the Juvenile Justice Act and Rules, alongside assistance from Police, Child line, civil society organizations, Gram Panchayats, Anganwadi, and the ASHA Network. (Para 11 )
8. How should the education of orphaned children be managed?
Orphans must be permitted to continue in their current schools (private or government). If private schools pose difficulties, they should be accommodated under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. (Para 14 )
9. What are the obligations of Child Welfare Committees regarding orphaned children?
CWCs are required to complete inquiries within the time limits specified in the Juvenile Justice Act and provide the necessary assistance and rehabilitation to the orphans. (Para 12 )
ORDER :
Directions were issued to the State Governments/Union Territories on 07.06.2021 regarding the identification of children who have become orphans or lost a parent after March, 2020 either due to COVID-19 or otherwise and upload the data on the ‘Bal Swaraj’ Portal on the website of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) without any delay. Further directions regarding the identification of the affected children and the steps to be taken by the concerned authorities have been given by the said order.
2. The learned Amicus Curiae focused on two issues during the hearing. The first relates to the identification of the children who have become orphans or lost a parent after March, 2020 and steps taken for their welfare and rehabilitation and the second pertains to their education. The learned Amicus Curiae submitted a note, along with which a brief summary of the responses of the State Governments/Union Territories has also been filed.
3. From the information provided by the State Governments in response to the Order dated 7.6.2021, the learned Amicus Curiae submitted that it is not clear as to whether the benefits that were promised by the State Governments/Union Territories have been given to all the orphans who have been identified. After going through the information provided by the State Governments/Union Territories, the learned Amicus Curiae stated that the majority of the orphans have been produced before the Child Welfare Committees (CWC). The immediate concern is finding out ways and means of identification of all such orphans and ensuring that the benefits of the schemes announced by the State Governments/Union Territories reach the identified orphans at the earliest. For the purpose of accurate and comprehensive identification of orphans, the learned Amicus Curiae suggested involvement of other agencies, at the grassroots level, which could immediately report to the CWC on securing information about deaths resulting in children becoming orphans.
4. Mr. K.M. Natraj, learned Additional Solicitor General appearing for the NCPCR, took us through the affidavit filed on 26.07.2021 in which the latest statistics of children who have become orphans, who have lost one parent or who have been abandoned by their parents have been provided by the State Governments/Union Territories. He submitted that the reported number of orphans in some States like Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and West Bengal appear to be unrealistic. The information that has been uploaded on the ‘Bal Swaraj’ Portal of the NCPCR by almost all the States is incomplete as there is registration of 75,320 children on the Portal, but information upto stage-5 has been given only in respect of 1,126 children. He stated that there are as many as 34 schemes announced by the Central Government, the State Governments and the Union Territories, the benefits of which can be monitored by NCPCR only after the information required upto stage-5 has been uploaded by the District Magistrates. He submitted that the NCPCR has the power to direct the State Governments/Union Territories to implement the schemes.
5. Mr. Suhaan Mukerji, learned counsel appearing for the State of West Bengal, contended that information was collected with respect to children who have become orphans on account of the death of their parents due to COVID-19 and data has been uploaded accordingly. A perusal of the order passed by this Court on 07.06.2021 shows that information of all the children who have become orphans or who have lost either parent after March, 2020 on account of COVID-19 or otherwise was required to be uploaded. It was made clear in the said order that information is not restricted only to deaths due to COVID-19. The District Magistrates in the State of West Bengal are directed to collect necessary information relating to the children who have become orphans or lost either parent after March, 2020 and upload the same on the ‘Bal Swaraj’ Portal of the NCPCR at the earli
