HC seeks action plan to curb drug abuse among children

The Kerala High Court on Thursday orally asked the State government whether there was any action plan to curb drug abuse among children in Kochi city.

The court also directed the District Police Chief (Kochi City) to appear in person or virtually by the next posting date to provide suggestions for an action plan. The Bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice C. Jayachandran made the query while considering a batch of petitions, including the one filed by Sumi Joseph of Ernakulam, a mother of schoolgoing children, the Kerala State Legal Services Authority and others, seeking effective government intervention to combat the menace.

The Home department submitted an affidavit and data, which included data from 2015 to 2024, which showed that Kochi city recorded the highest number of such drug cases in Kerala – 53 in total.

Reiterating that the authorities concerned needed to focus their immediate attention on Kochi city, the court said there was a lack of qualitative analysis in the affidavit, such as studies identifying trends or reasons behind the data. Furthermore, it sought the assistance of a senior police officer to focus specifically on the city.

Ms. Joseph, who had collected materials pertaining to the issue, submitted that the situation in the city was more severe than what the data said. These will be handed over to the District Police Chief (Kochi City).

The Home department’s affidavit further states that the special drive titled ‘Operation D-HUNT’ is progressing vigorously across the State to combat the drug menace. The drive resulted in significant seizures and is part of a multi-pronged strategy. So far, Janamaithri Police beat officers have identified 308 drug or substance-addicted children. A total of 341 children and adolescents received counselling services, while 112 have undergone de-addiction treatment.