'Children orphaned during the Corona period should get assistance' SC's important suggestion to the Center regarding Covid-19 schemes

Posted on 16th Sep 2023 by rohit kumar

Many people lost their lives during Covid, many children also became orphans during that period. While hearing a similar case, the Supreme Court has said that an orphan is an orphan, irrespective of how his parents died. The Supreme Court asked the Center if there is any way to extend the benefits of schemes, including the PM Cares Fund, to other children, including those orphaned during Covid.

 

Answer sought from center

A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra on Friday asked Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee, appearing for the Centre, to take instructions from the Center in the matter.

 

The bench told the Centre, "You have made absolutely the right policy for orphan children whose parents died due to Covid. But an orphan always remains an orphan even if his parents die due to an accident." Or may have occurred due to illness."

 

four weeks sought

The bench told Solicitor General Banerjee, "You should come up with directions as to whether the benefits of schemes including the PM Cares Fund created for orphans during the Covid-19 pandemic can be extended to orphan children." The ASG said he was recently given a brief to appear in the case and he would answer the court's question in four weeks.

 

Instructions to consider the right to education

Petitioner Paulomi Pavini Shukla said that children orphaned during the pandemic were provided benefits under the Right to Education Act and similar benefits can be given to other orphans at the direction of the court.

 

Shukla told the bench, "Two states Delhi and Gujarat are providing the benefits of the Right to Education Act by issuing a simple government order under Section 2(d) of the Right to Education Act and the same can be done in other states also. "

 

Section 2(d) of the Right to Education Act, 2009 a child belonging to a disadvantaged group i.e. Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Socially and Educationally Backward Class, or such other group whose social, cultural, economic, geographical, linguistic, gender or other Loss due to other factors, as may be specified by notification by the appropriate Government.

 

The court agreed to the petitioner's arguments

The bench took note of the submission of the petitioner and asked the Center to consider the expression in Section 2(d) of the RTE Act and consider extending the benefit to all orphans by issuing appropriate directions.

 

No reply received even after five years

Shukla said that notice on his petition was issued in 2018, the year he filed the petition, but even after five years, the Center has yet to file its reply. She said, "In 2018, I was studying law when I filed this petition. Five years have passed, I have written a book and am now married, but the Center has still not filed its reply "

 

Demand for 20 percent quota

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, present in the case, also said that orphan children should be given the benefit of a 20 percent quota for Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in school admission like other children. The bench asked Banerjee to seek instructions and file a detailed affidavit and also directed the states to file their response on the aspect of Section 2(d) of the Right to Education Act.

 

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