Thiruvananthapuram: The state, despite two notices from Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), is yet to furnish a report on why it has allowed a children’s home at Mudavanmugal to function.
The Divine Children’s Home was not recommended by the District Child Protection Office (DCPO) to be registered under the Juvenile Justice Act, because of a report about the torture of children. The DCPO took the decision based on a Child Welfare Committee (CWC) report that the institution inflicted torture on its children. Despite this, social justice secretary Biju Prabhakar issued a letter allowing it to function temporarily.
The KSCPCR sought the state’s clarification regarding this. “Recently we issued a notice calling for a report the second time. The state needs to reply as to why they decided to allow the institution to function temporarily. Once we get the report, we will compare it with the report submitted by the CWC.
According to the CWC, the institution claimed to be a hostel which would not come under the JJ Act. If the reports by the state and the CWC contradict each other, the commission will verify facts on the ground, and then submit recommendations based on that investigation,” says KSCPCR member C.J. Antony.
He said it was not a lone case, as only 853 out of 1,227 institutions have registered under JJ Act. He said that they have taken note of the report published by DC last week regarding the children’s home. In it, secretary Biju Prabhakar had said that the institution was one of the many allowed to function because of a pending Supreme Court case. Many orphanages had claimed to have converted to hostels, according to Mr Prabhakar. He had said that as some orphanages without registration challenged the HC verdict which directed the state to take over the care of the children, the state was forced to wait for the response.
According to the CWC report, the Divine Children’s Home also claimed to be a hostel. But when DC rang up Alice Thomas, director of the Mudavanmugal institution, she y told us that it was no hostel and that they admitted only children with a destitute certificate from the village officer.
