File ATRs on abuse of children in shelter homes, SC tells Centre, states

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Centre and state governments to file action taken reports (ATRs) on the abuse of 1,575 children living in shelter homes across the country.

After the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand, appearing for Centre, informed the court that 1,575 children were sexually and physically abused in shelter homes, a bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur asked about the names of shelter homes and action taken by the governments.

The ASG said as per data collected by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and social audits conducted by the Centre, 1,575 children were sexually and physically abused, including 286 boys.

The bench also asked the Centre to consider framing a child protection policy. It was hearing the plea on rapes of 34 minor girls in a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district.

The court also questioned the Bihar government for not making Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) report public. The report mentions incidents of rapes of minor girls in the Muzaffarpur shelter home and elsewhere in the state.

The Muzaffarpur horror came to light when the Bihar Social Welfare Department filed an FIR based on the TISS social audit.