The Madras High Court has come to the rescue of a widow, who wanted her daughter suffering from cerebral palsy to benefit from the provisions of the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act of 1999.
Disposing of a writ petition filed by C. Indira of Choolaimedu, Justice C.V. Karthikeyan directed the Chennai Collector to expedite the processing of an application made by her way back on October 22, 2018 to get appointed as a guardian of her daughter under the Act.
The judge ordered that the application be disposed of on or before February 15 after affording an opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioner.
“It is hoped that the respondent would take into consideration the fact that the Act has been passed with a welfare objective. The respondent may adopt a broad-minded approach by keeping in mind the object of the Act and discharge the responsibility as an authority under the Act,” the judge said.
The petitioner stated that her daughter was suffering from cerebral palsy since birth. The government institute of rehabilitation and medicine at K.K. Nagar in Chennai assessed her and issued a certificate stating that she was suffering from 80% permanent disability.
Therefore, the petitioner wanted to get herself recognised as the guardian under the 1999 Act, whose object was to enable and empower the mentally challenged to live as independently and as fully as possible and as close to the community to which they belonged and to strengthen facilities required for them.
The national trust was formed with a one-time grant of ₹100 crore allotted by the Centre and it was authorised to receive bequests of movable property from any person for furtherance of the objectives of the Trust.
