Terming child trafficking as a major problem, the Supreme Court today refused to stay the Kerala High Court's decision to order a CBI probe into the trafficking of children from Bihar and Jharkhand to the coastal state.
However, the apex court issued notice to Centre and the Kerala government and sought their response on a plea seeking stay on the CBI inquiry ordered by the Kerala High Court.
"Trafficking of children is a huge, huge problem in Kerala. You cannot say that this organisation is good or that organisation is bad," a social justice bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and U U Lalit said.
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On July 6, the Kerala High Court had ordered CBI probe into the trafficking of children from Bihar, Jharkhand and other states to orphanages in Kerala.
The high court had directed the CBI to take over two cases registered by Palakkad railway police and several others relating to child trafficking from other states to Kerala.
It had said that repeated incidents of smuggling of a large number of children to the state in violation of rules and regulations clearly indicated the necessity of proper probe and punishment to the guilty.
The court had directed that no orphanages or child homes should receive children from outside the state, except in accordance with law.
The high court's order had come on a PIL filed by NGO Thampu and others, who had sought its intervention to stop incidents of children being trafficked to orphanages in Kerala from other states.
