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The Kerala High Court has ordered the release a girl from Mahila Mandiram. It has held that a victim/juvenile cannot be kept in a Children’s Home or a similar shelter on the ground that the accused might possibly access the victim and cause harm.
The girl was a victim of the POCSO case, where the Judicial Magistrate ordered to admit her to Mahila Mandiram. Petitions filed by the father of the girl were rejected on the grounds that they were incapable of looking after the child and there was some risk involved, as the accused could access the girl. A revision petition was then filed in the High Court.
Bench comprising Justice V Chitambaresh and Justice KP Jyothindranath interacted with the girl, aged 13, who showed a desire to live with her father or grandmother. ‘When a child is found in need of care and protection, before putting the child in Children’s Home, there should be application of mind by the Committee; Committee shall take into account the investigation report by the Child Welfare Officer as well as child’s wishes’, the Court observed.
The Court has also observed that pertaining to this case, there is no report by the District Welfare Officer that the girl is in need of care and protection. There has been no investigation to give sufficient grounds for the rejection of custody to the father. Only the statements of the juvenile were recorded, where her option regarding her choice of residence was neither obtained, nor considered.
Referring to judgment in Jose Maveli v. State of Kerala, the bench observed that poverty cannot be a ground for declining the custody/restoration of the child. ‘The victim should not be the sufferer’, the Court said as it ordered the release of the girl from Mahila Mandiram. The Court also directed that she will be under the supervision of District Welfare Officer, Thrissur.
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