Rescue child beggars, provide education: Bombay HC

Expressing concern over the growing number of child beggars in Mumbai, the Bombay high court on Saturday directed the Maharashtra government to take proper action to rescue them and provide education.

A bench of justices V.M. Kanade and Revati Mohite-Dere asked the state government to find out the total number of children who are involved in begging on the streets of Mumbai. The bench also asked the state government to find out how many of them are orphans.

The court said the state government has to rescue them from the places where they beg and provide all facilities for their accommodation and education. These directions were given while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) that highlighted the need to urgently address this problem. Hearing on the petition has been adjourned for six weeks.

The court asked the state to refer to the census of child beggars that was conducted by by Asha Mukundan, a professor of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and along with various other NGOs in the year 2013.

The government must find out how many children have taken to begging either forcibly or voluntarily, the petition said. It also stated that it is the duty of the state to ensure that they are not asked to beg under any circumstances.

”The government has a responsibility to take care of destitute children, who either do not have parents or are forced by their elders to take to begging to earn a living,” said the PIL.