Congress workers to show black flag to PM on his arrival at Hubballi

Bengaluru, July 23: The High Court of Karnataka has directed the state government to formulate Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for child protection, particularly for cases of child pornography and child missing.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice M Nagaprasanna passed a detailed order and asked the state government to submit compliance within three months.

The division bench passed the order on two PILs, including a suo motu litigation registered in 2018. The PILs were registered to ensure effective implementation of the directions of the Supreme Court on the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act).

The bench observed that in normal courses, courts do not issue writ of mandamus to the legislature on rule-making aspects. However, when the failure of the state is demonstrated under exceptional circumstances, courts can issue directions. The bench directed the state government to expedite the rule-making process to ensure proper implementation of the JJ Act.

The bench expressed displeasure on the insensitive police investigation in cases of child pornography. “The police machinery did not show the sensitivity expected from it while dealing with cases of alleged child pornography. Therefore, it will be appropriate if the state issues SOP or guidelines for dealing with cases of child pornography so that proper investigation is carried out in such cases. As we are directing the formation of SOP for dealing with child pornography cases, the state is also directed to formulate guidelines on child missing cases,” the bench said.

The bench had been issuing several directions since 2018 and has also been monitoring police investigations. The court observed that while the state government has incorporated several directions, some issues still remain unaddressed.

The bench directed the government to have dedicated staff for the Directorate of Integrated Child Protection Scheme considering the sensitive nature of work.

On working of Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB), the court asked the Registrar General of the Karnataka High Court to issue directions to the principal magistrates of all the JJBs in the state to sit on all working days for a minimum of six hours a day. 

The high court directed the state to exercise the rule-making powers for obtaining an annual report from the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

Lucknow, Feb 24: The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board on Monday accepted the five acres of land provided for construction of the mosque in Ayodhya.

The Board also decided to form a trust to oversee the construction of the mosque.

The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the Board's Chairman Zufar Faruqui.

Apart from this, the trust will also construct a charitable hospital, public library and a centre showcasing the heritage of Indo-Islamic civilisation which will also serve as a research and study centre for the same, according to a press release by the board.

The appointment of members to the trust will be announced following its creation, the release added.

The Supreme Court had on November 9 last year directed the Central government to hand over the disputed site at Ayodhya for the construction of a temple and set up a trust for the same.

The apex court had further directed the government to allocate an alternative five acres of land at a prominent location in Ayodhya for the construction of a mosque to the Sunni Waqf Board.

Mangaluru, Jan 7: Kasturba Medical College Mangaluru, a constituent unit of Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), in association with Pai Family Endowment (in memory of Shri Suhas Gopal Pai) as its social initiative opens a newborn hearing assessment centre at Govt Lady Goshen Hospital on Tuesday.

Dr M Venkatraya Prabhu, Dean of KMC Mangaluru addressing the media persons said that the project is made possible by the generous philanthropic contribution of Mrs Anuradha (Shanthi)Gopal Pai and will be inaugurated by her in Presence of Dr H Vinod Bhat, Vice-Chancellor of MAHE.

Dr Deepak Madi, Deputy Medical Superintendent KMC Hospital Attavar explained that the facility will be managed by the departments from Audiology, ENT and Paediatrics of Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru. The Centre aims to screen all the babies born in the hospital for hearing loss.

This is the maiden initiative of the MAHE-Pai Family endowment which has been set up to find solutions for the numerous challenges faced by the hearing handicapped in & around Dakshina Kannada district.