The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday asked the State government to ensure that young children, rescued from beggary, are allowed to be breastfed by their mothers in terms of the guidelines issued by the apex court for allowing women prisoners to breastfeed their children.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit made these observations during the hearing on a PIL petition filed by Letzkit Foundation on the issue of forcing children to sell toys, flowers etc. on the streets of Bengaluru, particularly at traffic junctions.
115 FIRs registered
It was stated in the status report, filed by the State government on the First Information Reports registered under the provisions of the Karnataka Prohibition of Beggary Act during 2021-23, that 115 FIRs were registered in various parts of the State and 144 persons have been arrested for violation of the Act. Also, it was indicated in the status report that 54 boys and 45 girls were among the rescued children.
At this juncture, the advocate representing the petitioner pointed out to the court that there are children aged between 1 to 4 among the rescued and the authorities will have to ensure that their mothers are allowed to breastfeed them as women may be among those arrested for beggary.
Following this, the Bench told the government advocate to ensure that the authorities adhere to the guidelines issued by the apex court.
On beggary cess
Meanwhile, the Bench directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to pay ₹55.65 crore, the remaining outstanding of beggary cess, to the Central relief committee within four weeks. The Bench also said that the BBMP cannot plead shortage of funds for release of the cess amount as the civic body has no right to retain the beggary cess collected along with the property tax for its own use.
