Compliance with registration requirements under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 and Orphanages Act, 1960 is essential for running children's homes, and the Child Welfare Committee has the duty to ensure the welfare of children in need of care and protection.

1. The petitioner trust, aggrieved by the order of the respondent dated 19.05.2015, in and by which, it was directed to surrender all the nine abandoned children before them with relevant documents on 04.06.2015, has filed this writ petition.

2. The Managing Trustee of the petitioner Trust has sworn to the affidavit in support of the writ petition stating among other things that the Trust came to be established as per the Trust Deed dated 23.06.2006 and at present, ten girl children are being cared and maintained by them. The petitioner Trust submitted a representation dated 24.07.2006 to the District Collector of Kancheepuram District praying for recognition of the Trust as per the provisions of the various Acts governing the State and was directed by the District Social Welfare Officer, Kancheepuram District, to run the institution for a period of one year, vide order dated 01.08.2006 and it was indicated that after the expiry of one year, the request would be considered for registration of the institution as per the provisions of The Orphanages and Other Charitable Homes (Supervision & Control) Act, 1960 [Central Act 10 of 1960] [in short Orphanages Act, 1960].

3. The Deputy Director, Child Welfare In-Charge of Directorate of Social Welfare, Chepauk, Chennai-5, has also granted conditional registration for six months, vide order dated 01.06.2011, commencing from 01.06.2011 to 30.11.2011, subject to the condition that the institution shall be run in accordance with the provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act), 2000 as amended in 2006 [in short JJ Act] and Rules framed thereunder. The petitioner has also submitted an application under Section 34(3) of the JJ Act for registration and it is still pending with the Government. It is the specific case of the petitioner that it has complied with all the procedural formalities for grant of registration and despite that, harassment is meted out by calling upon the petitioner institution to produce the children admitted in their home and accordingly, one girl baby, namely R. Jessica, aged about 4 years, was directed to be produced and thereafter, the said child was handed over to Holy Apostles Convent, St. Thomas Mount, Chennai, subject to the condition that after completion of child attaining five years, she will be handed over to the petitioner Trust and after the said girl child attained five years, request was made to keep the said child in the care and custody of the petitioner institution. However it was rejected and now the custody of the child was entrusted to SOS, East Tambaram, Chennai-59.

4. The petitioner also made a complaint stating that since the child R. Jessica was emotionally attached and she is kept separately, she is not taking food properly and exhibiting her eagerness to come back and join other inmates of the home run by the petitioner Trust. It is also stated by the petitioner that the Collector of Kancheepuram District made a positive recommendation, vide letter dated 18.02.2015 to the District Social Welfare Officer, Kancheepuram to appoint the Managing Trustee of the petitioner Trust as a Fit Person and since no response is forthcoming, filed W.P. No. 12233 of 2015, praying for a direction to appoint a Fit Person and it is still pending and however, the respondent bent upon to close the institution and despite that, has issued the impugned order and therefore, the petitioner is constrained to file this writ petition, challenging the said order.

5. Mr. G. Justin, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that despite the order of the District Social Welfare Officer, Kancheepuram dated 01.08.2006, granting permission to run the petitioner Home for a period of one year, the impugned order calling upon the petitioner Trust to surrender all the nine children, is per se illegal and the Visitors Entry Register maintained as per Rule 66 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2000 also substanti