Family Forum / Parenting / Adoption / July 2008

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Delhi/Court_cancels_orphanage_licence/
articleshow/3299576.cms

Court cancels orphanage license
29 Jul 2008,

NEW DELHI: The license of an orphanage, Bal Vihar, in Uttam Nagar,
which was not recognised by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), was
cancelled on Monday by the guardianship judge at Tis Hazari Court and
an inquiry into the discrepancy of their records was ordered.

According to an inspection report, submitted by the CWC about this
orphanage, at least 13 children out of the 90 names entered were
reportedly missing in July. When asked about this discrepancy, the
Sadhu Sunder Singh welfare trust, which runs this orphanage, replied
that the children had gone for a vacation to “their relatives'
house”.

“I would want to know that if these children had relatives, why were
they kept in an orphanage. Is this a hostel?” said D D Singhla, an
advocate at Tis Hazari court. All the children were sent under the
protection of CWC.

Singhla had been fighting a case for custody of a four-year-old boy,
Prateek, who went missing four years ago, to be restored to his
natural parents. However, Prateek had been taken to Bal Vihar back
then by the police (without being produced in front of a magistrate
and to an orphanage not recognised by the CWC) and was fraudulently
adopted, within 10 days of him going missing, by Anil Jindal in Uttam
Nagar.

“The adoption deed had empty columns, no permission from any
magistrate, as is mandatory under Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection) Act, 2000, was sought and there was no notice by the
police. We challenged the adoption and now Prateek's parents, Dinesh
and Babita Sharma, have been granted his custody,” said Singhla.

Judge Surendra S Rathi also initiated an inquiry against the police.
In the case of Bal Vihar, the welfare society running it is registered
under the Society's Act and cannot open up any branch or act as an
adoption agency.