The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has directed the Secretary of the Social Justice Department to look into the orders by the district Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Ernakulam granting custody of children from orphanages, and file a report within one month.
The order follows a complaint lodged by the authorities of an Aluva-based orphanage which accused the Committee of passing orders without taking into account the best interests of the child. The incident pertains to the alleged abuse of a 15-year-old girl, an inmate of the orphanage, by her father after taking her to his house in Idukki during the summer vacation in 2014.
According to the complainant, the father had obtained a direction from the CWC to send the girl along with him despite her not wanting to go along with him. “..Many occasions, their orders are set aside by the High Court. They simply pass orders for transfer of children ignoring the basic principles laid down by the Supreme Court and various High Courts in the country… Hence I hereby call upon the Secretary, Social Justice Department, to look into the matter and take necessary steps. The Secretary shall file a report before the commission within a month during camp court at Ernakulam,” P. Mohandas, Acting Chairperson, said in his
