In a recent session, the Supreme Court delivered a sharp critique of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) regarding its petition aimed at missionary organizations accused of illegal child trafficking. The Court labeled the petition as “strange,” asserting that a statutory body like the NCPCR could not invoke Article 32 of the Constitution to seek such ambiguous directives.
The NCPCR had filed the petition in 2020, alleging the illicit sale of children from charity homes operated by the Missionaries of Charity. It called for a court-monitored investigation into these organizations in Jharkhand and proposed the establishment of Special Investigation Teams in various states, including Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh.
However, the bench, comprising Justices BV Nagarathana and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, dismissed the petition, citing its vague and omnibus nature. The justices expressed their incredulity, emphasizing that a statutory body should not use Article 32—designed to protect citizens’ fundamental rights—as a basis for seeking relief against private entities.
The Court clarified that the NCPCR, under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, possesses the authority to conduct inquiries and protect child rights but cannot file a petition laden with vague requests. “In this context, we find that such broad and unclear demands should not have been initiated by the NCPCR,” the Court stated as it dismissed the case.
Case: National Commission for Protection of Child Rights v. State of Jharkhand