Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Maharashtra authorities failed to participate in Tuesday’s hearing before the High Court of Bombay at Goa in a PIL concerning allegations of children being brought into the State for begging.
The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) at Osmanabad and the Secretary of Maharashtra’s Women and Child Development Department did not join the proceedings through video conference, despite the Court having specifically directed their appearance at the earlier hearing. The authorities had also been served notices through email.
Taking note of their absence, the High Court decided to seek the assistance of the Maharashtra Advocate General on matters involving coordination between the two States, monitoring of repatriated children and their rehabilitation after being sent back to Maharashtra.
The Court has also ordered that fresh notices be issued to the concerned authorities. The case has been posted for further hearing on September 23.
At the previous hearing, the Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar had raised concerns over the apparent lack of follow-up by Maharashtra officials after children rescued from alleged begging activities in Goa were repatriated to Osmanabad.
The Bench had also called for information from the Osmanabad Collector and Superintendent of Police regarding children who were brought to Goa for begging and those subsequently sent back by the Goa Child Welfare Committee and government agencies.
