Last week, the Uttarakhand High Court granted Lt Col S Bajaj custody of his 17-year-old nephew Arjun in a habeas corpus case against the boy's father. The court's decision was based on the minor's statement where he submitted his preference to live with his maternal uncle Bajaj, as opposed to his own father Jaipreet Singh.
Rashmi Bajaj, Arjun's mother was estranged from Singh, an army officer posted in Sikkim. Even as divorce proceedings were underway, Rashmi succumbed to COVID in May, and Arjun was left in his father's care. The high court order noted that Singh had detained Arjun and prevented him from interacting with his maternal relatives.
In light of this situation, Lt Col Bajaj filed a habeas corpus plea and sought custody of his nephew Arjun, who will turn 18 in September. Keeping these facts in mind, the court noted that Arjun had clearly "crossed the tender age" and was "going to attain the age of majority very soon".
"The Court cannot grant custody of a person against his/her volition. As per the statement, he is very much interested to reside with his maternal uncle Lt. Col. Shakti Bajaj," the June 9 order read. "After attaining the age of majority, the Court cannot compel him to go with any person against his will," Justice RC Khulbe noted in his order.
"As regards to custody of the interregnum period are concerned, from the statement of Master Arjun, it is clear that he is studying in 12th Class and he will appear in board exam also. He is ready to live in Dehradun with his maternal uncle, Lt. Col. S. Bajaj," the order added.
However, Arjun's story is not unique. If the second covid wave has exposed the vulnerabilities in India's healthcare system, a new challenge emerged when stories of orphaned, and abandoned kids became viral on social media.
Stop Illegal Adoptions of COVID orphans: Supreme Court
On May 28, the top court took note of children who were orphaned, lost either parent to COVID, or were abandoned during the pandemic. On May 28, the apex court directed district administrators to "immediately take charge of such children and attend to their basic needs". The Supreme Court further directed the Centre and the States to "prevent any NGO from collecting funds in the names of the affected children by disclosing their identity and inviting interested persons to adopt them".
"Invitation to persons for adoption of orphans is contrary to law, as no adoption of a child can be permitted without the involvement of CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority). Stringent action shall be taken by the State Governments/Union Territories against agencies/individuals who are responsible for indulging in this illegal activity," the court added.
The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) submitted that from April 1, 2020, till June 5, 2021, there were at least 30,071 children who were orphaned, had lost either parent, or were abandoned either due to the pandemic or otherwise.
The NCPCR stated that around 3621 children were orphaned, 26176 children lost either parent, 274 have been abandoned. These numbers include all circumstances and are not confined to COVID only. Of these, Madhya Pradesh recorded the maximum number of orphaned (706) and abandoned (226) children, while Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of children (6865) who lost either parent.
These numbers however are conservative since the data is being continually collated on the Centre's Bal Swaraj portal.
Also Read: Covid-19 Is Leaving India's Children Orphaned, This Is What We Can Do
