HC seeks Bihar govt reply on petition flagging 'exploitation' of minor girls

Patna, Jun 30 (PTI) The Patna High Court has sought a reply from the Bihar government on a petition flagging "trafficking and exploitation" of minor girls by "dancing/orchestra groups".

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Partha Sarathy passed the order on a writ petition filed by ‘Just Rights for Children’, which describes itself as "a network of over 250 NGOs working for child rights".

The petitioner's counsel had submitted before the court that raids conducted on orchestra groups in districts like Rohtas, Saran and Gopalganj, by the local administration upon a tip-off, have led to "rescue of a large number of minor girls".

The counsel had argued that "trafficking and exploitation", which have thus come to light, "if left unchecked, would only lead to frustration of the very policy for protecting children".

The petitioner also prayed for directions to the state to formulate "a multi-stakeholder strategy/state-wide action plan for the regulation, registration and monitoring of the orchestra/dance/theatre groups".

The court, in its order dated June 29, directed the state authorities to file its reply by the next date of hearing on July 25, while ordering "immediate action in case any such trafficking is reported in any of the orchestra/dance/theatre groups running in the state of Bihar". PTI CORR NAC RBT