Involvement of children in demonstrations: Hearing in SC today

New Delhi: Taking suo moto cognizance of the issue after the death of an infant in Shaheen Bagh, the Supreme Court today will hear a case to stop the involvement of children and infants in demonstrations. Protests are being held at Shaheen Bagh for almost two months over Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde will take up the case.

It must be recalled that a four-month-old baby had passed away in his sleep on the night of January 30 after returning from Shaheen Bagh where his parents had taken him during the anti-CAA protest.

Zen Gunratan Sadavarte, a recipient of the 2019 Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) National Bravery Award had written a letter to the CJI seeking directions to prevent children from participating in demonstrations as it “amounts to cruelty”. In her letter, Sadavarte said that the parents of the baby and the organisers of the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh had “failed” to protect the rights of the kid, resulting in his death.