Juvenile Homes: HC seeks report from Government
BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the the state government to submit a detailed status report on the maladministration in juvenile homes and government observation homes in connection with a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL).
The PIL was filed following media reports over inmates in such institutions committing suicide and attempting to escape.
Treating a letter from the High Court’s Registrar General P Krishna Bhat on the issue based on a newspaper report on the issue as complaint, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna directed the complainant and the state to submit the status report after a joint operation.
Meanwhile, the bench directed Child Rights Protection Commission Chairman Neena Naik to be present before the court during the next date of hearing. It may be pertinent to note that the letter stated that maladministration was rampant in juvenile homes and government observation homes, while adding that officers responsible for the running of these homes were apathetic to the situation.
The letter also indicated that inmates of such institutions were deprived of their rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
HC Issues Notice to State over PIL on UBP
The High Court on Monday issued notice to the state government in connection with a PIL which questioned the necessity of the Upper Bhadra Project (UBP).
The petitioner, S N Neelakantappa, also claimed that the project is unscientific and that the government is wasting public money on an unwanted project.
Neelakantappa averred that while people living in the vicinity of the Bhadra river do not get its water, the project provides water to those living about 300 km away.
The PIL states that work on the UBP - a project on the Bhadra river intended to provide drinking water to Chikmagalur region - was started in 2003, at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore; it was later extended to the districts of Kolar, Chitradurga, Tumkur and Chikballapur at a cost of Rs 6,000 crore.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna issued notice to the state government and others and prorogued the case.
Info on Edu Grants Updated: Govt
The state government submitted before the High Court that it has updated information pertaining to grants released to it under the Rashtriya Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan schemes on the website of the state education department, www.karnatakaeducation.com.
A city-based advocate A V Amarnath had filed a PIL requesting that the state government be directed to provide adequate infrastructure in all primary and secondary schools of the state.
He had added that the government had not provided details of these grants released from 2010 onwards on the website.
A High Court division bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramjit Sen and Justice B V Nagarathna issued the notice and prorogued the petition.