SC takes suo moto cognizance of 35 children contracting COVID-19 in govt-run home in Chennai
Jun 11, 2020
New Delhi [India], June 11 : The Supreme Court on Thursday took suo moto cognizance of news reports that 35 children in a government-run home in Chennai's Royapuram have tested positive for coronavirus and sought a status report from Tamil Nadu government regarding the spread of COVID-19 in shelter homes and steps taken to safeguard the children.
A bench comprising of Justice L Nageswara Rao, Justice Krishna Murari and Justice S Ravindra Bhat sought to know how the children got infected and whether the top court's earlier orders for protecting children were not observed.
"35 children have been detected with COVID in a shelter home in Tamil Nadu. We want to know what steps have been taken in this regard by the State of Tamil Nadu. We've been told it's because the warden was COVID positive," the bench observed.
The apex court directed the Tamil Nadu government to file a status report regarding the spread of COVID-19 in the shelter homes and also the steps that have been taken for safeguarding the health of the remaining children.
The top court, which posted the matter for hearing on Monday, also sent a questionnaire to all the states seeking information on a host of issues relating to the protection of children in shelter homes during the pandemic.
"The Juvenile Justice Committees of the High Courts will also be supplied with this. Juvenile Justice Committees to ensure that the state governments provide the information that is sought," the court opined while seeking feedback from state governments in relation to the pan-India suo moto matter.
The apex court also listed for hearing the issue relating to pan-India safety of children at shelter homes on July 6.
