New Delhi: A woman lawyer booked under the
Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act for allegedly
employing a minor girl as a domestic servant, has been let off
by a Delhi court as the girl denied being forced to do any
labour.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Rajneesh Kumar Gupta
quashed the magisterial court`s order issuing notice against
advocate Jasmine Ahmed and discharged her, saying that there
was no evidence against her.
The ASJ referred to an earlier order of a sessions court
which had quashed the FIR against Jasmine`s husband Nayan
Ahmed, a senior scientist at Indian Agricultural Research
Institute, in the same case with an observation that the
couple was doing "noble act by raring a destitute minor girl".
The court noted that the girl had denied being forced to
do any work and said, "It is evident that the girl is not
forced into any kind of labour as a domestic servant".
The FIR lodged in 2009 on a complaint of a inspecting
officer (Labour) had stated that girl was found to be working
at the couple`s residence inside the Pusa campus of Indian
Agricultural Research Institute as a domestic servant.
Jasmine Ahmed contended that they treated the girl like
their daughter with love and affection and moved the sessions
court against notice issued to her by a magistrate`s court.
She said the girl`s father had deserted the child and her
mentally unstable mother so they had agreed to take her care
as foster child.
"I am of the opinion that no offence punishable under
provisions of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation)
Act, 1986 has been made out against the petitioner. The
impugned order passed by the trial court in is set aside and
the petitioner is discharged," the ASJ held.
PTI
