Telangana Court reviews NCPCR guidelines

NEW DELHI

In the case of Keethineedi Akhil Sri Guru Teja v. State, the Telangana High Court observed and issued a notice to the State Minority and Tribal Welfare Authorities and various State Minority Residential Educational Institutions. The PIL was moved to enforce the Guidelines and Regulations laid down by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, 2018.
The Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice T. Vinod Kumar, heard the PIL filed by a Hyderabad resident. The resident sought the court’s directions for the installation of bathrooms, toilets, and wardens in Government-run hostels of educational institutions for children, and standalone hostels, as per the minimum mandatory requirement ratio stipulated in Chapter-IV of the NCPCR guidelines. The main argument in the petition highlighted that despite specific guidelines and regulations from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, government-run residential educational institutions have failed to provide essential amenities, including bathrooms, toilets, mattresses, pillows, fire extinguishers, and wardens.
Additionally, the petitioner contended that as a welfare state, both State and Central Governments cannot make arbitrary, illegal, and whimsical decisions that adversely affect the right to life of lakhs of children. Such actions violate the children’s fundamental rights and the guidelines set by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The petitioner further prayed for the court to direct authorities to submit a status report concerning bathroom and toilet facilities in standalone hostels for children across the state. Advocate Prabhakar Chikkudu represented
the petitioner.