Punish parents for forcings kid into child labour, HC told

The Delhi High court has sought a response from the central government on a plea seeking directions to prosecute parents who force their minor child into the labour market.

A division bench of Justice G. Rohini and Rajiv Shah Endlaw issued notice to the labour ministry and ministry of woman and child welfare and fixed Oct 29 as the next date of hearing.

The court was Wednesday hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocates Anu Mehta and Rubinder Pal Ghumman seeking formulation of guidelines for handling cases of child labour to ensure that every offender, including a delinquent parent, be dealt with sternly.

The plea said guidelines were required to create a state of 'zero tolerance' to stop child abuse.

"Children are immature, tender and incapable of guarding in situations of economic and physical exploitation as they lack the understanding, maturity and strength to protest against exploitation wrecked at the hands of parents," it said.

It also sought measures and comprehensive mechanisms to deal with child-related laws and crime against children as, the advocates claimed, there was an inherent flaw and lacunae in the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act and Children (Pledging of Labour) Act.

No punitive action was directed against erring parents who actively exploit their children, the advocates contended.

"State mechanism must be created to investigate the role of parents in child abused otherwise the government will not be able to reach the root of the problem and the recovery of children subjected to trafficking will be re-routed to the erring parents," the plea said.

It said it has been seen in a growing number of cases that parents actively push their minor children into the labour market, acting with collusion with exploiters and child traffickers and thus have "active role in participation in perpetrating crimes towards their own children".