COVID-19: Many institutions for child welfare, but in need none step up: HC

New Delhi, May 11

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said there were so many institutions for welfare of children, but in the time of need like COVID-19 pandemic, none of them step up.

“We have all these institutions, but in the time of need, they do not step up,” a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli said while hearing arguments on the issue of taking care of children whose parents have succumbed to COVID-19 or are hospitalised for treatment, leaving such kids at the mercy of the world.

The observation by the bench came after senior advocate and amicus curiae Rajshekhar Rao said that child care institutions and anganwaadis can be roped into helping children who have been orphaned on account of COVID-19.

He said the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) can be asked to issue directions with regard to adoption of such kids and the child welfare committees (CWC) can be asked what steps they have taken in this regard.

The Delhi government said it has issued advertisements sensitising people on this issue and that all modes of communication, including TV channels, have been used.

However, advocate Prabhsahay Kaur, who was attending the hearing, said that the advertisements only speak of children orphaned due to parents succumbing to COVID and not about those who are in distress as their parents are hospitalised for treatment and no other care giver is present.

She also said that CWCs are presently functioning online and therefore, people do not know how to approach them.

The bench agreed that the advertisements of the Delhi government needed to be “properly worded” and asked Kaur if she can draft a suitable advertisement and share it with the amicus and the court.

The court said that after going through the same, it will ask the Delhi government to publicise it. — PTI