NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has written to Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, asking him to take action against minister Rajendra Pal Gautam for disclosing the identity of minors in a social media post.
The Commission has received a complaint against a video posted by Rajendra Pal Gautam, Social Welfare Minister, Government of NCT of Delhi on Twitter handle. As seen in the said video, the minister has been found to be inspecting a CCI in Delhi, disclosing the identity of the children and the name of the institution has also been shown. “In the said video, it has also been mentioned that these children living in this CCI are orphan children,” the letter addressed to the secretary of the Lt Governor said.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) demanded strict action against the minister under the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, 2015. Under Section 74 of the Act, it is an offence to disclose a child’s name, address, age or school on any media platform, which may lead to the identification of the child in conflict with law or a child in need of care and protection or a child victim or witness of a crime, involved in such matter.
Section 74(3) of the Act further provides that any person contravening this provision shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or both.