Consider framing a child protection policy: SC tells Centre

Expressing concern over the growing number of sexual assault cases in shelter homes across India, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the central government to consider framing a child protection policy.

The Centre told the three-judge bench, headed by Justice Madan Bhimrao Lokur that a detailed audit would be done on all shelter homes by October.

The government informed the top court that social audit report by Ministry of Women and Child Development showed that 9382 child care shelter homes had been identified across the country last year. It added that 1575 children in various states are victims of sexual abuse.

The apex court later raised questions about the identities of these child sexual victims. The court asked whether these children are being abused inside the homes or were they sent there because they were victims of abuse.

The Supreme Court further grilled the central government and asked what has been done after these reports were filed.

Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, senior lawyer appearing for the central government, said the mandate of the audit was the only to check whether childcare homes are registered and no social audit has been done.

Only 32 percent of shelter homes are registered, the apex court observed. It was further addressed that Karnataka, Telangana and Chattisgarh have highest percentage of child pornography victims.

The Muzaffarpur shelter home in Bihar was sealed after police raided the vicinity and rescued 44 inmates on July 23. Eleven employees of shelter home were arrested later for harassing a number of girls residing at the facility.

In a similar incident, the owner of a shelter home in Bhopal was arrested on August 10 for allegedly raping a deaf-mute girl during her stay in his hostel.

Meanwhile, on August 5, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested a couple and rescued 24 girls from a shelter home in Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, after an inmate escaped and informed the police about the alleged ill-treatment meted out to them.