Archive · 9 Oct 2026
Delhi High Court Directs Welfare Decision for Jharkhand Teen
A 17-year-old girl from Jharkhand has been staying in a shelter home in Delhi since August 1.
Her mother came to Delhi and asked the court for help getting her daughter back.
The mother says the girl was taken to Delhi for housework without her knowledge.
A Delhi Police report gives a different account, saying the girl came with a woman she knew and with her parents’ permission.
The Delhi High Court has told the Child Welfare Committee to decide what is best for the girl.
It also asked the committee to consider her rehabilitation and return to society.
The committee must make its decision within 10 days of receiving the order.
The court did not say what the committee’s decision should be.
The Delhi High Court issued its direction in an order dated October 1.
The court asked the CWC to decide the 17-year-old’s welfare and rehabilitation within 10 days of receiving the order.
The girl, from Khunti, Jharkhand, has been staying at a Delhi shelter home since August 1.
Her mother alleges she was taken to Delhi for domestic work without her knowledge and is seeking her daughter’s custody.
A Delhi Police report says the girl came with a woman she knew and with her parents’ consent, contradicting the mother’s account.
- Who
- A 17-year-old girl from Khunti, Jharkhand; her mother; the Delhi Child Welfare Committee; and the Delhi High Court.
- What
- The High Court directed the CWC to decide the girl’s welfare and rehabilitation after her mother sought custody.
- When
- The order was issued on October 1; the girl has been in a Delhi shelter home since August 1.
- Where
- The girl is staying in Delhi and is from Khunti, Jharkhand.
- Why
- Her mother is seeking to reunite with her daughter, while accounts differ over whether the girl came to Delhi with parental consent.
Mother’s account
Delhi Police report
How the girl came to Delhi
Mother’s account
The mother alleges her daughter was taken to Delhi for domestic work without her knowledge or consent.
Delhi Police report
The Delhi Police status report says the girl travelled to Delhi with a woman she knew and with her parents’ consent.
Why the girl remains in a shelter
Mother’s account
The mother and her lawyer question why the girl remains in CWC custody and say no FIR has been registered against those allegedly involved.
Delhi Police report
Delhi CWC chairperson Deeba Naseem said the committee would comply with the court order, but said she had no information about why the minor was still in Delhi.
- Court
- Delhi High Court
- Order date
- October 1
- Girl’s age
- 17
- Origin
- Khunti, Jharkhand
- Shelter stay
- She has been at a Delhi shelter home since August 1.
- Deadline
- The CWC was directed to decide within 10 days of receiving the order.
- Court’s direction
- Decide the minor’s welfare, rehabilitation and social reintegration; the court expressed no view on how rehabilitation should occur.