Kochi: In a recent important decision, the Kerala High Court has said that strict action should be taken against parents who take young children to protests or movements. Justice PV Kunhikrishnan made this remark, saying that if a parent deliberately involves his young children in protests like dharna or satyagraha, then law enforcement agencies have full right to take action against them.
The court says that children below the age of 10 cannot understand the purpose of protests, and they should be kept away from them. The judge further said that young children should be allowed to play, go to school and engage in other activities according to their age. If parents try to involve children in protests, it will be considered their deliberate neglect, and strict action should be taken in such cases.
The court clarified that taking young children to protests can harm them physically and emotionally. Due to crowded places, heat, and lack of cleanliness, children are at risk of falling ill. Moreover, the violence, loud noises and crowds during protests can have a negative emotional impact on children.
The observation was made in a particular case in which the parents of a three-year-old child were booked by the police under Section 23 of the Juvenile Justice Act 2000. The parents were accused of protesting outside the state secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram in the scorching heat with their child. The protest was being held due to the death of their first child in 2016, whom they lost due to medical negligence of a hospital. They were demanding financial assistance from the government.
However, the court quashed the criminal proceedings of the petitioners in this case. The court said that the parents had not deliberately neglected their child, but the death of their first child forced them to do so. The court also made it clear that this decision should not be taken as a precedent, and strict action may be taken against parents who involve children in protests in future. The petitioners in the case were represented by advocate PV Venugopal, while the state was represented by government pleader Sangeetharaj NR.
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