The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has taken a case and issued notice to the government on the reported sale of a newborn to a childless couple for ₹3 lakh.
Commission acting chairperson P. Mohandas has asked the Health Secretary, SAT Hospital Superintendent, and the Medical College Circle Inspector to furnish explanations within three weeks. The case will be considered after receiving the explanations.
The girl child was born at SAT Hospital to a Kattakada resident on June 11. The child was reportedly sold to a childless couple from Tamil Nadu through an intermediary.
A complaint filed by social activist P.K. Raju alleged that a SAT Hospital-centred lobby was behind the ‘sale.’ Officials were trying to keep the matter under wraps, the complaint said.
The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights too will intervene in the case. Commission chairperson Shobha Koshy said the sale of children was not acceptable, and the commission would intervene in the matter.
Meanwhile, the woman’s two other children – a five-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl – have been shifted to the Kerala State Child Welfare Council at Thycaud following the directives of the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) and the district Child Welfare Committee.
Minister for Social Justice K.K. Shylaja has called for recovery of the newborn from the Tamil Nadu couple and handing her over to the council, council general secretary Deepak S. said. The Minister has also sought a daily report on the care of the children, he said.
A racket
In a statement, Mr. Deepak said the council had received complaints of a racket in ‘sale’ of newborns in SAT Hospital; Woman and Child Hospital, Thycaud; and other private hospitals in the city. These were allegedly run by people from Tamil Nadu. The State Police Chief has been urged to unearth these rackets, the statement said.
‘Ammathottil’ had been set up by the council in all districts to receive children who could not be looked after by their parents for some reason. If such a situation arose, children should be entrusted with the council, which functions under the Social Justice Department, instead of being handed over to such racketeers, the statement said.
The boy and the girl will be presented at the full sitting of the Child Welfare Committee on Friday, DCPO K.K. Subair said. The District Child Protection Unit visited SAT Hospital to ascertain the facts of the case, he said.
It also gave a report to the Kattakada police directing them to take action against the woman, the intermediary, and the man to whom the child was ‘sold’ under Section 81 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, that pertains to sale and procurement of children for any purpose, Section 80 that related to punitive measures for adoption without following prescribed procedures, and Section 87 that relates to abetment, besides under the Indian Penal Code.
