The Sindh High Court (SHC) has taken exception to the police investigation pertaining to the arrest of an underage girl in a drugs sale case, directing police to arrest the parents of the girl as well as investigate their involvement in narcotics sale and using their child for it.
The direction came on the application of the minor girl who sought release on bail in a drugs sale case. The 14-year-old applicant had been arrested in May for selling heroin. She said her mother Aasia had given her the heroin to sell.
The father of the girl claimed that her mother had died. According to the prosecutor, the investigation suggests that Aasia is alive, and there is a strong possibility that the parents had been using their minor daughter as a drug mule.
After the perusal of the police papers, an SHC division bench headed by Justice Omar Sial said parents play a crucial role in a child’s upbringing, supervision and moral development. The court said parents are legally and morally responsible for providing guidance, monitoring activities and protecting their children from harmful influences, so if a child becomes involved in drugs sale, it may indicate neglect, lack of supervision, or even direct involvement or exploitation by adults in the household.
The bench said that in such cases the authorities often investigate if the parents fulfilled their duties of care and control. The court took exception that police regrettably did not investigate the parents to determine their involvement in the crime.
The SHC said that an exponential rise has been seen in cases in which minors are involved in selling drugs. The court said that there is every likelihood that children are being exploited just in the way women have been in the past.
The bench said narcotics exploitation of vulnerable children is a global issue affecting communities worldwide, and criminal networks exploit these children often through poverty, lack of education or coercion. The court said children face physical and psychological harm, perpetuating crime and the poverty cycle.
The SHC said that stronger child protection laws, community education and rehabilitation programmes are needed to combat this menace, but the state has failed to fulfil its obligation under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The bench directed police to arrest the parents of the child and investigate them with regard to their involvement in narcotics sale and using their child for it. The court said if they are found involved in the offence, a separate case should be referred to the Women & Child Protection Cell established by the Sindh police, and the Sindh Child Protection Authority. The bench directed the investigation SP to supervise the investigation of the case personally using modern methods of investigation.
The court directed the judicial magistrates who are presented with charge sheets of similar cases as well as the investigation SP to include the parents/elders of any child caught selling drugs in the investigation, stressing that they should be prosecuted if found involved in selling drugs through their child.
The SHC granted bail to the girl, and directed police to hand over the girl to her aunt, saying that if no one comes forward to provide the surety of the bail, the case be relisted with the court.