Gurugram: The Punjab and Haryana High Court last week expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with child welfare officials for failing to protect a 17-year-old Nuh girl, and ordered that she should be rehoused at a Chandigarh shelter.
Justice Vinod S Bhardwaj criticised the manner in which child welfare officers in Haryana discharged their duties and imposed costs of Rs 25,000 on the state government.
The teenager’s petition—filed with the help of her friend, Jaswant Singh (23)—said her father died a year ago and her mother was “no longer interested in taking care of her”. She was neglected, harassed and ill-treated, it said.
The Nuh district child welfare officer subsequently informed the court it had rescued the girl, prompting the HC to dispose of the petition.
But the teenager was handed her over to her uncle without her consent, the court noted, exposing her to “grave danger and higher threat to her life and liberties”.
She ran away from her uncle’s house in September, prompting the filing of the current petition to seek protection of life, liberty and dignity.
In its 12 November order, Justice Bhardwaj said, “This court records its strong dissatisfaction of the manner in which the Child Welfare Officers in the State of Haryana have discharged their duties. Their actions reflect a deviation from the objectives of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which mandates a sensitive and rational assessment of a child’s safety and welfare.”
The judge noted that instead of adhering to the spirit and intent of the JJ Act, the officers’ “good judgment has seemingly been clouded over by lack of rationality and proper application of mind”.
Finding her situation untenable, the court ordered Haryana government to rehouse the teenager at a children’s home in the Union territory of Chandigarh. It noted that the teenager was unwilling to be sheltered in Nuh or elsewhere in Haryana over fears of her safety.
Petitioner now an adult
On the day of Justice Bhardwaj’s order, the teenager turned 18 years of age. She told the court that she intends to live and marry her friend, Jaswant Singh, but still fears for her safety.
The HC, consequently, directed the Chandigarh senior superintendent of police to issue appropriate directions to ensure her safety and security within the Union territory’s jurisdiction.
Justice Bhardwaj directed that a copy of the order be sent to the Haryana additional chief secretary and women and child welfare department for “appropriate action against the concerned officials of the Child Welfare Committee for failing to show the sensitivity required in the present matter”.
The court imposed costs of Rs 25,000 to be deposited by the office of director social welfare with the district health and family welfare society, Panchkula, noting that the state would be “at liberty to recover the cost from the erring officials who failed to ensure due compliance of the court’s directions”.
Justice Bhardwaj listed the matter for hearing on 12 December, when it will take up compliance reports from Haryana’s women and child development department.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
Also Read: Don’t rely on AI, Google mid-argument—Punjab & Haryana HC warning divides legal practitioners