The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to all the states on a plea seeking enforcement of fundamental rights, under Articles 14, 15, 19, 21, 21A, 39 and 47 of the Constitution, of migrant children and children of migrant families during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Bobde, Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian further sought reply from the Centre while impleading the states in the matter.
The petition, filed by Child Rights Trust, seeks to ensure migrant children and children of migrant workers are provided proper living conditions, nutrition, health care/immunization, access to education and their protection. The petition highlights that the lack of present-day assessment of the number and essential needs of migrant children, infants and pregnant and lactating women of migrant families has aggravated their vulnerabilities during the lockdown.
The petition has been filed by the Bangalore-based NGO Child Rights Trust and Neena Nayak, a child rights activist and advocate.