A group of 86 inmates of a home for girls run by Tiruchi-based Mose Ministries, which has been in the news since 2015 for running the home without authorisation, have jointly filed a writ petition in the Madras High Court Bench here accusing the government officials of not setting them free despite an undertaking given to the court in November last to release all those who had completed 18 years of age.
Hailing Pastor Gideon Jacob, the administrator of the home, for having saved them from female infanticide at Usilampatti near here and taking good care of them since they were abandoned by their parents years ago, the petitioners accused the government officials, who were directed by the High Court in December 2015 to take over the administration, of ill-treating them and not providing even basic facilities. “Provisions were scarce and we, at times, had to wait for weeks together for medical treatment even though some of the inmates were writhing in pain and distress.
“Most of our requests were brushed aside by the authorities and a part of the girls [34] were never visited or cared for in any way,” the 86 inmates stated in their affidavit, and urged the court to set them free from the clutches of the court-appointed committee.
ADVERTISEMENT
Officials’ version
When the matter came up before a Division Bench of Justices T.S. Sivagnanam and N. Seshasayee, the government officials informed the court that the inmates had refused to appear individually before the committee headed by the Collector to ascertain their wishes on being set free.
The judges were told that the inmates wanted the committee to ascertain their views collectively at the home.
ADVERTISEMENT
After recording those submissions, the judges ordered that the inmates be taken to the Tiruchi District Court, where their individual statements could be recorded by the secretary of the District Legal Services Authority.
The Secretary of the DLSA was, in turn, directed to file a comprehensive report in the court by June.
“We feel that this exercise should be conducted to ascertain the views of all the inmates and to assess whether they have focus in life and whether they are clear about what they would do after they leave the home, and above all, to ensure that they are not tutored to give certain statements,” the judges said.