Woman acquitted in child labour case

A woman accused of employing a minor girl as a domestic help has been acquitted by a Delhi court, which said the maid was over 18 years of age and her employment was not "illegal".
The court, while allowing her plea, stopped proceedings against the woman employer and rejected the application of the prosecution seeking to make her husband also an accused in the child labour case.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Bansal said under the provisions of Child Labour Act, a person under the age of 14 years is considered to be child and his employment is prohibited but here the girl was over 18 years of age when she was employed as a maid in January 2011 in Navita Goel's house.

The court acquitted Navita for the offences under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act and Child Labour Act.
"As per definition of child under the Child Labour Act, a person who has not completed 14 years of age is to be considered a child. Section 3 of Child Labour Act prohibits employment of child as domestic servant.
"Thus when prosecution witness 2 (girl) was more than 18 years old in January 2011, her employment as domestic servant was not illegal. Thus no offence under Child Labour Act either is also made out," the court said and relied on her birth certificate which showed that she was born on March 21, 1992.

A case was registered against Navita when the girl was found near Old Delhi railway station in November 2011, by the officials of Child Welfare Committee.
She was sent to Kilkari Home where she disclosed that she was working as child labour at Vivek Vihar, police said.
The girl told the court she was working as a domestic servant in the house of Navita, a resident of Vivek Vihar in East Delhi, since January 2011 and she was not happy there as she had not stayed away from her family before.