Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Thursday said that it is the state government’s responsibility to protect and provide a safe environment to those children whose parents have been arrested and sent to jail. The HC further asked the state government to file an affidavit on what steps it has taken towards implementation of suggestions made by an NGO regarding a policy for such children.
A division bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice Girish Kulkarni was hearing a suo-motu petition after the Supreme Court in 2014 had directed all the 24 high courts of the country to examine the ‘rights of prisoners especially females and children with them’. According to National Crime Bureau website there are 330 convicted women prisoners and 392 women undertrial are in jail till the year 2015.
NGO Prayas Foundation is assisting the high court in this petition it has filed its report according to the court’s order and pointed out the need for better facilities, protection and welfare of the children. Dr. Vijay Raghavan, who is a member of Prayas Foundation and the case’s amicus curiae, a specialist who assists the court, told The Asian Age that there is no such statistics available regarding children, whose mother is inside the prison.
“Prayas Foundation, which is in fact a project of Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS), has given detailed suggestions on how to handle this issue. The state government will have to take into consideration the suggestions made by Prayas Foundation. We are concerned about the welfare of such children.”
The high court has also directed the state to file an affidavit and kept the matter for hearing after two weeks. The foundation, meanwhile, suggests appointment of prison welfare officers/social workers at every prison.
Praya’s views
The government should set up an independent department or wing to look into prevention of crime, probation, rehabilitation of released prisoners, women in commercial sexual exploitation, children of prisoners, and children discharged from juvenile institutions. Atleast one NGO must be recognised.
