The Single Bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya of the Calcutta High Court in the case of Suvendu Adhikari Vs West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights & Ors held that Child rights should be taken seriously because they are not something to be taken lightly. The rights cannot be minimized or become a by-product of political lob-and-volley games between opposing parties.
Brief Facts:
The factual matrix of the case was that a tweet was made by the Petitioner regarding the security arrangements for a birthday party of one “Koyla Bhaipo’s son”. The Petitioner is an elected member of and the leader of the opposition of the State Legislative Assembly. Thereafter, a show cause notice was issued by an advisor to the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights pursuant to a complaint made by Respondent No. 4.Hence, the present petition has been filed seeking the quashing of the show-cause notices and the complaint.
Contentions of the Petitioner:
It was contended that the notices which were issued, were issued without the jurisdiction, hence the Notices did not attract the provisions of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as the “2005 Act”) or the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights Rules, 2012 (hereinafter referred to as the “2012 Rules”).
Contentions of the Commission:
It was submitted that under the 2005 Act and the 2012 Rules, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, action could be taken against the tweet.
Observations of the Court:
It was opined that the Commission’s existence, powers, and jurisdiction are derived from any act that is either actual or apprehended and amounts to a violation of “child rights” as defined under the 2005 Act.
It was noted that the said tweet does not disclose any name. The actual test is to see whether the tweet points to a particular person, without any political assumptions. As such the content of the tweet did not disclose any violation of child rights. The tweet was also not specifically addressed to the child to violate any of the child's rights protected by the Act and the Convention in a way that would make it a breach of the provisions of the Act and the UN Convention.
Thus, it was noted that there was no cogent reason to issue show-cause notices.
The court further added that in accordance with section 2(b) of the Act and articles 8 and 16 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the contents of the tweet do not appear to reflect any violation of a child's rights.
Furthermore, it was noted that the complaint was merely a politically coloured letter, and a show-cause notice was issued by an “Advisor” who does not feature in the statutory scheme of the 2005 Act. Moreover, there was no relatable nexus between the complaint and the offence of violation of child rights. Therefore, it was ruled that the Commission acted without jurisdiction.
The High Court expounded that child rights are not child’s play and have to be dealt with stringently. The rights cannot be trivialized to be made subject matter of the political rivalry between two parties.
The Decision of the Court:
Based on these considerations, the Hon’ble Court held that the tweet does not fall within an offence or a violation as envisaged under The Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, or the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Accordingly, the show cause notices were stayed.
Case Title: Suvendu Adhikari Vs West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights & Ors
Coram: Hon’ble Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya
Case No: W.P.A 2167 of 2023
Advocates for the Petitioner: Mr. Soumya Majumder, Adv. Mr. Billwadal Bhattacharyya, Adv. Mr. Anish Kumar Mukherjee, Adv. Mr. Suryaneel Das, Adv. Ms. Oishee Choudhuri, Adv.
Advocates for Respondents: Mr. Debashis Banerjee, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Jana, Adv, Mr. Anirban Ray, Adv, Mr. Rajarshi Dutta, Adv. Mr. Ayan Poddar, Adv.
Social media is young.
Social media raises questions.
Social media is not satisfied with an answer.
Social media looks at the big picture.
Social media is interested in every detail.
social media is curious.
Social media is free.
Social media is irreplaceable.
But never irrelevant.
Social media is you.
(With input from news agency language)
If you like this story, share it with a friend!
We are a non-profit organization. Help us financially to keep our
journalism free from government and corporate pressure .
0 Comments