Visva-Bharati row: NCPCR objects to disclosure of child's identity

New Delhi -  India's apex child rights body has demanded action against Visva-Bharati University as well as the print media for disclosing the identity of the Class 5 student who was asked to lick her urine as punishment for bedwetting, a statement said here Saturday.

According to National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the university disclosed the child’s identity in a press release, therefore, it “violated Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) as contained in sec 21 (2) of the said Act".

The Commission also wrote to the Press Council of India (PCI), accusing the print media of violating the provisions too.

"...Even the print media has been, of late, violating the said provisions under the Juvenile Justice Act by disclosing the identity of the child in need of care and protection and also the juvenile in conflict with law by publishing their names, pictures, home address, school address, and other parameters of their identity,” said the statement.

“Strict action to be initiated against the violators,” it added.

The Commission has asked the PCI to circulate an advisory to all print media organisations asking them to refrain from disclosing identities of such children.

The NCPCR has also issued a similar letter to the ministry of information and broadcasting as well as Electronic Media Monitoring Cell (EMMC).

“We strongly desire that a sensitization programme for the media personnel on reporting be organized in collaboration with the stakeholders working in the areas of protection of child rights, and a strong set of protocols be issued.”