Bombay High Court to decide whether abandoned children can be granted reservation extended to orphaned kids

The Bombay High Court has framed four questions to settle the constitutionality and legality of the question of whether 'abandoned' children can be included within the definition of 'orphan' children so that they too can be extended reservation benefits in education and employment [Nest India Foundation & Ors. v. State of Maharashtra].A division bench of Justices SB Shukre and Firdosh Pooniwalla framed the questions on a petition filed by the NEST India Foundation, a charitable trust, which sought issuance of certificates declaring two girl children as abandoned children. During the course of arguments, the NGO urged the Court to direct the government to create reservation benefits for abandoned children at par with orphaned children. .The division bench said that the plea raises the following four constitutional and legal issues: Is not including an abandoned child in the government resolution (GR) that grants reservation benefits to orphaned children discriminatory and hence unconstitutional?If the court concludes the GR is unconstitutional, in order to save the constitutionality, should the word 'orphan' be read to include abandoned, and is it permissible?Does the GR discriminate between institutional and non-institutional categories of reservation?Can provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act (JJ Act) which does not deal with reservation at all, be used to widen the scope of the word 'orphan'?.A co-ordinate bench in February 2023 had noted that the JJ Act did not distinguish between a child who is abandoned and a child who is an orphan.It initially could not agree with the State government's stand that reservation benefits for orphaned children cannot be extended to abandoned childrenHowever, it also agreed with the State's apprehension that parents may deliberately abandon children, especially girl children, in order to get reservation benefits if at all any such reservation is created for abandoned children.The Court ultimately concluded that the law on this subject requires detailed examination which it said it would do when it finally hears the petition.It, thus, framed the above questions for the lawyers to argue on..The plea will be listed for final hearing in due course..Advocates Abhinav Chandrachud, Akanksha Agrawal, Pranit Kulkarni and Ismail Shaikh appeared for the NEST Foundation.Advocate General Dr. Birendra Saraf with government pleader PH Kantharia appeared for the State..[Read Order]