The Supreme Court on Monday banned the employment of children in circuses and directed the government to rescue children employed in the sector and formulate a rehabilitation programme for them.
A bench headed by Justice Dalveer Bhandari said that in order to protect the fundamental rights of children, it is imperative that the government issues notification to prohibit employment of children in this sector.
The court also directed the government to conduct raids to rescue children working in circuses and formulate a proper rehabilitation programme for them.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan seeking its direction to the government for rescue and rehabilitation of children below 14 years of age working in circuses.
It also asked the government to file a comprehensive affidavit within ten weeks giving details of the action taken by it in compliance with its order.
The matter was posted for further hearing on July 19.