In the process of identifying the Children who live on Streets , the Supreme Court, on April 18 , asked the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (“NCPCR”) to involve Non-Government Organisations and individuals working in the field of Child Rights.
The Division Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai also enquired if the access to the Bal Swaraj portal set up by the NCPCR could be provided to such organisations.
Amod K. Kanth, General Secretary, Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre ,stated that the Child Care Institutions have better access to the Children in Street Situations than the District Magistrates and other such Government Institutions.
Advocate, Swarupama Chaturvedi appearing for NCPCR apprised the Bench that the NGOs were already directed by the Top Court to be involved in the said by the State Governments.
Additional Solicitor General, Mr. K.M Nataraj, informed the Bench that they are considering seeking assistance from law schools in identification of the Child Care Institutions.
Gaurav Agarwal , Amicus Curiae, informed the Bench that on a previous occasion, it had directed the States to formulate the policy for rehabilitation of the Child Care Institutions .
Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, urged the top court to involve civil society in the identification of children in street situations.
The Court said that it has been monitoring this for almost one and a half years but the progress has not been satisfactory.
The bench observed that the NCPCR should take the help of individuals or organisations keen to extend assistance in identifying the children.