Madan B. Lokur, J. - (1.) This writ petition was taken up on the basis of an article published in the Hindi newspaper "Hindustan" (Lucknow Edition) on 4thJuly, 2007. The article was written by Ms. Anjali Sinha and the translated caption of the article is "Orphanage or Places for Child Abuse". The article was forwarded to this Court by one A.S. Choudhury along with a letter and that is the genesis of this petition which was registered as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on 10th September, 2007. Ms. Aparna Bhat was appointed as Amicus Curiae to assist this Court. At the outset we must and do acknowledge the unstinting and excellent efforts put in by Ms. Aparna Bhat over the last 10 years in rendering assistance in this matter.
(2.) Broadly, the article written by Ms. Anjali Sinha mentions that orphanages in Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, run by NGOs as well as government institutions were reportedly involved in systematic sexual abuse of children. A sting operation indicated that sexual services of children were being provided to foreigners as well as Indian tourists and that the rates of children whose sexual services were being taken were fixed over telephone or in a meeting at the orphanage.
(3.) It is further stated that in a program organized by the State Commission for Women in Tamil Nadu, representatives of the National Commission for Women participated and it was acknowledged that government schools have become unsafe for girl students due to sexual abuse. The incident of an eight year old girl who was harassed by her Principal was mentioned and it was noted that the Principal was only transferred out by way of punishment. Another incident was mentioned where the school teacher misbehaved with students in the presence of other students in a closed room.;