PIL in Delhi HC seeks direction to provide interim custody of children orphaned due to Covid-19

By Sushil Batra
New Delhi [India], May 8 : A Public Interest Litigation has been moved in Delhi High Court seeking direction to Union of India, Government of NCT Delhi, Delhi Police and other government authorities to provide interim custody of the children who have been orphaned due to Covid-19 to their nearest relative or child care homes under their supervision and to protect the identity of such children so that they are not vulnerable.
The petitioner Jitender Gupta, practicing lawyer of Delhi seeks direction to the respondents to safeguard the interest of the children who have lost their parents to Covid-19 and who do not have anyone else to take care of them and face the risk of being trafficked.
The petition also seeks direction to grant appropriate financial compensation to the family members of those citizens who have lost their lives during the Covid-19 pandemic after being denied access to the adequate health care infrastructure/facilities in terms of hospital admission, oxygen cylinders, injections, medications, etc.
The plea states that complete collapse of health care infrastructure in the National Capital Territory of Delhi during the second wave of Covid-19 in India, more specifically starting from April 2021, due to gross negligence and failure on the part of the Respondents i.e. Union of India as well as the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), has resulted in the untimely death of hundreds/thousands of citizens.
Various Benches of Delhi High Court are currently examining the batch of petitions related to Covid.
The bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh is scheduled to hear the matter on May 10.