Delhi HC issues notice on PIL seeking direction to stop child begging at traffic signals

The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice to National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Delhi Government, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), and others on a petition seeking direction to enact appropriate law and policies to stop child begging and selling of products on traffic signals and junctions.

The Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh on Monday sought response from all the respondents on public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Piyush Chhabra, a social activist and practicing lawyer in Delhi Courts, and slated the matter dor June 2.

The petitioner Piyush Chhabra also sought the issuance of directions to the respondents to protect the rights of the children upon the streets of Delhi and to make proper arrangements for the children at Child Care Institutes. The petition also seeks directions to make appropriate policies/laws to curb the terrible situations of the children in street.

The plea also seeks the Delhi Commission for Children Protection Rights (DCPCR) to verify the identity of these impoverished children and also their paternity to ascertain the true identity of these children, especially of infants, and to take appropriate legal action against such adults who promote child begging or use helpless children as a tool to promote begging.

The children and infants who are the subject matter of this petition immediately need protection from the State. Children are the greatest human resource of any country, and a measure of a country's social development lies in its children's well-being. That using children as a medium for begging or engaging children directly on the open roads even in the bad weather conditions is not only hazardous to their mental and physical health but also violating their constitutional rights such as right to life, right to education, plea read.

( With inputs from ANI )