Kerala High Court Takes Suo Motu Cognisance Of Nedumangad Toddler's Death Allegedly Due To Stepfather's Torture, Seeks Probe Report
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (June 17) directed the State to inform it about the steps taken in the investigation into the Negumangad Child Murder case.The Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. while considering a suo motu public interest litigation directed:"The Government Pleader is directed to file a report in the form of an affidavit indicating the...
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (June 17) directed the State to inform it about the steps taken in the investigation into the Negumangad Child Murder case.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar V.M. while considering a suo motu public interest litigation directed:
"The Government Pleader is directed to file a report in the form of an affidavit indicating the steps taken so far with regard to the tragic death of one and a half year old child suffering weeks of horrific systematic torture in Negumangad, Thiruvananthapuram allegedly by his stepfather...The report as regarding the progress of the investigation made so far shall also be made in a sealed envelope."
The case refers to the death of a 1 ½ year-old toddler in Negumangad, Thiruvananthapuram on May 29, 2026 allegedly due to the torture inflicted on him by his stepfather, Ashkar.
The present suo motu PIL was registered on the basis of a letter written by Justice Devan Ramachandran.
In the letter, Justice Ramachandran had requested for creating an effective mechanism with the cooperation of machineries including the police, hospitals, child protection officers, welfare officers as well as the Legal Services Authorities constituted in the State. The letter further points to fact that the postmortem report conducted on the child revealed that he had 51 injuries, including cuts and cigarette burns, on various parts of his body, including private parts. Prior to his death, he had fractured both his arms and was treated in hospitals.
When the matter came up today, the Court orally pointed to a specific point in the letter that there was inaction on the part of the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) even though the child's grandmother alerted about the possibility of abuse at the hands of his mother's partner:
"Specific allegation is that the District Child Protection Officer of Trivandrum had not taken steps in spite of the child's grandmother specifically informing them in advance what is happening."
The Government Pleader took notice on behalf of respondent State authorities, including State Police Chief and Department of Women and Child Development (WCD). He further submitted that the Secretary of the Social Justice Department is also a necessary party since this department implements the welfare activities and directions of the WCD.
Recording the submission, the Court added the Social Justice Department Secretary as an additional respondent. Notice was also issued to the Kerala State Legal Services Authority (KeLSA), which is also arrayed as a respondent.
The case is posted after two weeks.
Earlier, in 2019, another suo motu proceedings (WP(C) No. 10987 of 2019) were initiated by the High Court with respect to the incident of child abuse at Thodupuzha and for ensuring effective systemic mechanisms against every kind of child abuse. However, the same was closed after noting that the investigation was concluded and that commital proceedings was pending.
Case No: WP(PIL) No. 123 of 2026
Case Title: Suo Motu v. State of Kerala and Ors.