High Court seeks Delhi government reply on plea to implement order on prevention of child labour

The Delhi High Court has sought response of the city government on an NGO's plea seeking implementation of the court's previous judgement on prevention and elimination of child labour.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao was hearing an application by NGO 'Bachpan Bachao Andolan' (BBA) and associate organisation 'Save the Childhood Foundation'.

The court asked the Delhi government to respond and listed the matter for further hearing on November 16.

The court adjourned till November 16, the proceedings in a revision petition pending before a trial court relating to discharge of accused in a 2010 case of child labour, criminal intimidation, obstructing public servant from performing duty and assaulting him.

In the July 2009 judgement, the high court had modified the existing provisions for better rehabilitation of child labourers and had widened the involvement of police in rescue operations of child labour in the city.

The high court had in November 2014 disposed of a petition seeking complete elimination of child labour from the national capital after the city's additional commissioner of labour had assured the court of action on the issue.

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Senior advocate H S Phoolka, appearing for the NGO, sought direction to the government to file an action taken or compliance report in terms of the July 15, 2009 judgement of the high court.

The application, filed through advocate Prabhsahay Kaur, also sought direction to the government to file a status report regarding the number of cases under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which are pending investigation for more than a year and where the charge sheets have not been filed for over a year.

The plea also sought details of such cases along with reasons for the delay in filing of charge sheets.

Citing an instance of 2010 when 10-12 child labourers were rescued from Jamia Nagar in Delhi by a team of BBA, the plea alleged that the members were obstructed and attacked by some miscreants who also took the minors away.

Police filed a charge sheet in the case after a delay of six years and later the accused were discharged by the trial court here this year.

"What makes matters worse is that in this case, the police was to trace the children who were kidnapped and taken by the accused, but the police failed to do so," the plea submitted.

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