The Supreme Court has directed District Magistrates (DMs) and child welfare authorities to ensure that properties and assets of children orphaned by the pandemic are protected.
A Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao has asked the officials to take the help of legal services authorities in the districts concerned to provide legal aid to such children.
Many of these children have parents who died suddenly leaving unfinished debts, mortgages and other financial commitments.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and court’s amicus curiae, advocate Gaurav Agarwal, have highlighted how banks may try to recover from the property left behind by the parents, leaving the children stranded without any economic support for continuing with their education and for their basic needs.
“The District Children Protection Unit officers and the District Magistrates concerned are directed to take assistance of the District Legal Services Authorities to ensure that the properties of deceased parents of the forlorn children are protected and the children are not deprived of their properties,” the court said.
The NCPCR had flagged in court the unsettled financial commitments as a major issue facing the children, who may yet not have come out of the trauma of losing their parents due to the pandemic.
Equally important is the fact that many of these children may have assets or property which would become vital sources of income to help them become financially independent and look after their education and needs.
To know the whole extent of the problem, the Commission had suggested to the apex court in an affidavit that States should upload the details of the assets and liabilities on its Bal Swaraj portal, an NCPCR platform dedicated to identify and rehabilitate children affected by the pandemic.
The NCPCR had urged the court to direct the DMs to “take steps regarding the financial liabilities like loans, mortgages, insurance premiums, etc, due on such children”.
Further, it had said “heads of lead banks should take up the issue with banks/insurance companies under the supervision of the District Magistrates. One of the basic problems would be operating bank accounts in case of orphans who have not been named nominees. The ready money available would be a great source of comfort for emotionally ragged children who suddenly feel stranded without their parents.
The Commission had said the DMs could also ‘see’ if the deceased parents had left behind any property and ensure that the property rights of the children were protected.
