By IANS,
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued notice to the central and the city governments on a plea which said that authorities have failed to create procedures to provide safety and dignity to children arriving and staying at railway stations.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also issued notice to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the union ministry of women and child development, the railway ministry and the department of women and child development of the Delhi government and sought their response by Oct 3.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed by Khushboo Jain through advocate Anant Asthana.
It said that treating children who are living at railway stations as illegal travellers or illegal occupants of railway premises and penalizing them complicates the problem rather than solving it.
The PIL said that the central government’s (ministry of women and child development, railway ministry) failure to create procedures that protect the safety and dignity of children arriving and staying at railway stations is a violation of their right to life.
It was also alleged that despite effective recommendations having been suggested by the NCPCR and existence of successful intervention models, children arriving, working and living at the railway stations continue to sacrifice their childhood.
“Children who live at railway stations are some of the most vulnerable children in India. They are sometimes sent from home by their parents to earn money, some are missing children and others have run away from home,” the plea said.
“Whatever the cause, they arrive at railway stations and face various forms of abuse from both state and non-state actors,” the plea added.