In cases where minor girls are employed as domestic helps, the police should also book the placement agencies rather than directly booking the employers, a trial court has observed. Cautioning the people who hire minor girls as domestic helps, the court said that such employment without age and police verification could invite penal actions.
Additional district and sessions judge Kamini Lau also said the family members of such minors and the placement agencies who put them into such jobs are also liable to be punished under the law.
"Putting up minor girl for employment without age and police verification is not only improper but also illegal and entails penal consequences. Not only family members of the minor and the placement agencies who put up such minors for employment are liable for penal action but even persons who hire and employ such minors do so at their own risk and are liable to be hauled up,'' the court said.
The court's observations came while hearing an anticipatory bail plea of one K D Singh and his wife Harshit Bedi, both retired government employees, who were accused of employing a minor as domestic help and ill-treating her. The couple had come to the court seeking bail on the grounds that they had hired the girl through a placement agency, which claimed the age of the domestic help to be 18 years. Taking a serious view of the records indicating the age of the girl as 15 years, the court pulled up the investigating officer and questioned her whether she has taken action against the placement agency.
"The owner of the placement agency who had sent the girl to the residence of the applicants is the main accused and is reported to be absconding,'' it said. The investigating officer, on her part, assured the court that the departments concerned would be informed in due course so that appropriate action, including cancellation of licence, could be taken against it.
The court also granted the couple bail on personal bond of Rs 20,000 each with the condition that they would appear before the investigating officer on June 17. A case was registered against the accused couple following a complaint made with Prasad Nagar police station on May 12 that they had employed a minor girl as domestic help and ill-treated her.
Additional district and sessions judge Kamini Lau also said the family members of such minors and the placement agencies who put them into such jobs are also liable to be punished under the law.
"Putting up minor girl for employment without age and police verification is not only improper but also illegal and entails penal consequences. Not only family members of the minor and the placement agencies who put up such minors for employment are liable for penal action but even persons who hire and employ such minors do so at their own risk and are liable to be hauled up,'' the court said.
The court's observations came while hearing an anticipatory bail plea of one K D Singh and his wife Harshit Bedi, both retired government employees, who were accused of employing a minor as domestic help and ill-treating her. The couple had come to the court seeking bail on the grounds that they had hired the girl through a placement agency, which claimed the age of the domestic help to be 18 years. Taking a serious view of the records indicating the age of the girl as 15 years, the court pulled up the investigating officer and questioned her whether she has taken action against the placement agency.
"The owner of the placement agency who had sent the girl to the residence of the applicants is the main accused and is reported to be absconding,'' it said. The investigating officer, on her part, assured the court that the departments concerned would be informed in due course so that appropriate action, including cancellation of licence, could be taken against it.
The court also granted the couple bail on personal bond of Rs 20,000 each with the condition that they would appear before the investigating officer on June 17. A case was registered against the accused couple following a complaint made with Prasad Nagar police station on May 12 that they had employed a minor girl as domestic help and ill-treated her.
Source:-The Times of India 16 June 2009 P. 3 Delhi
For any query:- legalbuddy@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment