‘Reports suggest widespread illegal adoption, trafficking of babies in Telangana’: HC, takes up suo motu PIL plea
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The reports submitted in a writ appeal over Shishu Kendra in Nalgonda district “do project a widespread nature of activities of illegal adoption or human trafficking of babies and young children in the State”, the Telangana High Court said on Tuesday.
Making this observation and remarking that it involved larger public interest, the Bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice Vakiti Ramakrishna Reddy took up the matter suo motu as a Public Interest Litigation. “Many of these children are infants and their biological parents are also not traceable, and the middlemen are absconding,” the HC Bench said.
The suo motu taken up PIL petition over ‘illegal adoption and human trafficking of infants and children in Telangana’ should also assess if the Juvenile Justice Act-2015 was being effectively implemented in the State, the Bench said.
The writ appeal was filed by a 35-year-old farmer M. Venkanna challenging a single judge order declining to grant relief to him in his writ petition seeking custody of his two-year-old adopted daughter Sharanya.
The farmer adopted the child from one Nakka Yadagiri when she was 30-days-old in May 2023. A couple of years later, the police took away the child from Venkanna’s house contending that the infant was among babies trafficked and sold by Yadagiri and his aides. The police handed over the baby to the custody of Shishu Kendra in Nalgonda for further protection and care.
The single judge dismissed Venkanna’s plea stating that the baby cannot be handed over to Venkanna since the latter did not adopt the baby as per the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) guidelines. Challenging the order, he moved the Division Bench.
After hearing contentions of the appellant and the government wings, the Bench appointed senior counsel B. Mayur Reddy as amicus curiae in the matter and sought a report over the issue. The Bench noted that Home department clarified that biological parents of the child ‘adopted’ by Venkanna were yet to be traced out. The middle woman accused of trafficking the child was absconding.
While deciding to hear the appeal separately on October 7, the Bench ordered that Principal Secretary for Home, Women Development and Child Welfare Director, TSLSA secretary and the DGP, Safety Wing, be made respondents in the suo motu taken up PIL plea.
Senior counsel Mayur Reddy would continue to assist the HC in the PIL plea, which would be heard again on October 5, the Bench said.
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