KARACHI: Expressing serious resentment over the authorities concerned for not providing any mechanism for the welfare of unclaimed and destitute children, the Sindh High Court directed the social welfare department and director general of the child protection authority to establish reformatory/hostel centres for such children at division level.

The SHC said the Sindh Child Act was promulgated in 1955, which not only demanded taking a destitute child into custody by the state, but with the concept of reformatory institution. But apparently it served no purpose for lack of purposeful implementation as even a child protection authority was established around two years back but again on paper only.

A single bench of the SHC headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar also directed the social welfare department and the child protection authority DG to submit record of the last two years with regard to efforts made for the destitute, recovered or adopted children as well as to achieve the objectives of section 10 of this act in particular.

It also issued directives to the officials to visit the institutions meant for such children, whether run by government, private or non-governmental organisations, and ensure that such institutions had at least minimum standards.

Calls for ensuring minimum standards at public, private shelters

The bench issued these directives after the social welfare department remained unable to satisfy the court about providing any shelter home or reformatory institution for such children and measures to enforce the act during the hearing of an application of a woman seeking custody of her minor girl.

The petitioner, Beenish, moved the SHC seeking custody of her minor daughter, who was handed over to the Sarim Burney Welfare Trust by her sister, after a sessions court dismissed her application.

On a directive of the SHC, a deputy director of the social welfare department filed a report about the shelter home of the NGO and said it was providing good facilities and inmates were quite satisfied about basic necessities

However, Justice Panhwar observed that the protection and rehabilitation of every single unclaimed and destitute was the ultimate responsibility of the state and it could not avoid it on the plea of working of some NGOs with the help of philanthropists. He added that the roles of NGOs could never be a substitute for the responsibility of the state, but could be an assistance which too must require a supervisory eye by the state.

Entry of a single child into such institutions (NGOs) must be supervised till the child either reaches safe hands or is made capable of leading a honourable life, the bench added and deplored that this aspect was missing which allowed a number of questions on working and even existence of such government institutions or authorities.

“Reformatory/hostel centres shall be established in every division to ensure that in case minors are destitute, concerned police with the approval of magistrate as provided in the Child Protection Act shall nestle them in those centres,” it said and also sought a compliance report on a quarterly basis and also asked a member of the SHC inspection team to ensure compliance.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2018

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