'Don't believe your numbers': SC rap to Bengal, Punjab over data on Covid orphans

The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up West Bengal, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir over delay in updating the number of children who have been orphaned due to the pandemic.

The top court told the lawyer for Bengal govt that it was not inclined to believe that only 27 children had been orphaned in the entire state due to Covid-19.

Saying that their figures don't seem correct, the Supreme Court reprimanded the Punjab govt for relying only on information from the district Child Welfare Committee and asked them gather data on Covid-19 orphans from grassroots level.

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The top court has also asked J&K administration to ensure that updated information is submitted soon.

In June, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights informed the Supreme Court that as many as 30,071 children were orphaned, lost a parent or abandoned mostly due to the pandemic, citing data submitted by different states till June 5.