141 boys reported missing from Karnataka observation homes, HC seeks report

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Feb 23, 2022: The Karnataka High Court has sought a comprehensive report from the state government on 141 boys who have gone missing from the state observation homes. Observation homes are places created in a district or for a group of districts temporary reception, care and rehabilitation of any child alleged to be in conflict with law, during the pendency of any inquiry under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act (JJA).

 

Every state is required to have such homes which are either established by the state government or voluntary/non-governmental organisations (NGOs). All such observation homes need to be registered under section 41 of JJA.

Looking into the petition submitted by social activist KC Rajanna, a resident of Kolar, the division bench headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Suraj Govindaraju gave the order on Tuesday, February 22.

The bench has issued notices to the Women and Child Welfare Department and Police department in this regard and posted the matter to March 9.

The bench has asked the government to provide information on what measures have been initiated to find the missing 141 boys at the time of next hearing.

The incident came to light through a Right to Information (RTI) application, and the petitioner had approached the High Court regarding the matter.

S Umapathy, the counsel appearing for the petitioner, stated that as per the information obtained from the Woman and Child Welfare Department through RTI, from the period 2015-16 to October 2021, as many as 420 children are missing. Among them, 141 boys are yet to be traced. The police have not even conducted an investigation in this regard, he said.

According to the Juvenile Justice Act, every police station should have a separate cell to deal with the missing children cases. In this case, the negligence of officers concerned was apparent, he said.

Courtesy:The News Minute