Kerala Muslim body moves SC against Kerala government's orphanage order
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Kozhikode: Orphanages affiliated to the Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulama, a Muslim affiliating body in Kerala, have filed a petition in the Supreme Court praying for annulment of an order of Kerala government in pursuance of the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act of 2015 passed by the Central government.
The Kerala government order stipulates that the orphanages in Kerala have to get registered as child welfare centres.
The petitioners contended that the government order requiring the orphanages which are religious institutions endowed as waqf institutions to register themselves as child welfare centres before 1 December 2017, constitutes an interference in religious freedom.
The petition, filed by Advocate Zulfiqar Ali on behalf of the organizations, points out that the said order, issued as in pursuance of an interim decree of the SC and requiring the thousands of orphanages to be registered as child welfare centres, is overstepping the SC verdict. The new order, issued on 15 of last month, will deprive the orphanages of their status as religious institution and minority character.
The orphanages were established to impart religious education to the Muslim community by different organizations and committees, and if they are registered as child welfare centres, as demanded in the order, they will not be able to fulfil their objective of offering religious education to orphans. This is against Article 25 of the Constitution guaranteeing religious freedom.
The petition further contended that the enforcement of the order will also lead to a situation where the orphans will have to spend days in jail together with juvenile delinquents. Children of orphanages do not come under the jurisdiction of juvenile care. If they are brought under that, functioning of orphanages will come under Child Welfare Councils (CWC) thereby leaving the existing institutions with no control over the inmates.
Orphanages fall under the supervision and control of Orphanage Control Board as per law - Orphanage and Other Charitable Homes (Supervision and Control) Act - passed by Parliament in 1960. SC has not expressly asked for these institutions, already registered under the said legislation, to be again registered under Juvenile Justice Act. Therefore the double registration requirement being imposed by Kerala government is unjust.
While the objective of child welfare centres is to protect or take care of children temporarily, the objective of orphanages is to enable them complete their education and facilitate their employment. And admission to orphanages is done through their guardians. The children in orphanages are not those in need of vigilance and protection as envisaged in juvenile justice provisions. On the contrary, they became orphans following the death of either father or mother, a principle upheld in a high court verdict in the Jose Maveli vs Kerala Government case of 2007, plead the petitioners.