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