Bombay High Court bats for women convicts’ kids

A Tata Institute of Social Sciences report says there are 39,000 street kids in Mumbai who the state government has no record of

The Maharashtra government informed the Bombay high court on Tuesday that it has decided to increase the financial assistance given to women convicts after their release from prison, with the latter now getting Rs 25,000 instead of Rs 5,000.

The state made the submission when a division bench of Justice V.M. Kanade and Justice Swapana Joshi was hearing a suo motu petition regarding the children of women prisoners. The court also wanted to know from the government as to what would happen to women convicts’ children who stay outside prison while their mothers are in custody. The court asked whether the children would be in a position to go to school or would suffer due to their inability to access education.

On Tuesday, the court directed the state government to compile all the information regarding the children of women prisoners, as also street children, by October 17 so that a policy can be formulated for the betterment of these children. The court added that after this policy is formulated, it would direct the state to implement the same in the future.

The HC also clubbed the issue of women prisoners’ children along with that of the street children, and wanted to know how many of them existed as of now. The bench directed the government pleader to place on record on October 17 the number of children of women convicts, so that it could ask the government to take care of their education, livelihood and other needs.

During the hearing, the court also said that the Tata Institute of Social Sciences had conducted a survey and compiled a report, according to which around 39,000 children are living on the streets and footpaths of Mumbai, with the government having no record about them. These children can be sent to school and the state can monitor their progress, the court said.