The parents contended that they were merely exercising normal parental discipline. (Representational)
A couple in Indore were in for a surprise when they found out their two children had filed a police case against them. Their daughter, 21, and son, 8, had taken them to the cops over being scolded for excessive usage of mobile phones and watching TV.
This unusual event unfolded on October 25, 2021, when the siblings reached the Chandan Nagar police station, alleging that their parents even thrashed them for their screen habits.
The police not only filed a case but also invoked stringent charges that could lead to imprisonment for up to seven years.
The case was registered under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 294 (uttering obscenities), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (common intention), as well as sections 75 (cruelty to child) and 82 (corporal punishment) of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Advocate Dharmendra Chaudhary, representing the parents, stated that the High Court has issued an interim stay on the trial.
The parents contended that they were merely exercising normal parental discipline, a common practice in many households facing similar issues with children's screen time. They explained that the children had been repeatedly counseled before they were scolded and their actions were within the bounds of normal parenting.
The parents claimed that the police acted unilaterally without considering their side of the story. "Every house is troubled by the children's addiction to mobile and TV," the parents argued in court. "Scolding children is a normal thing. This happens in every house."
Since they dragged their parents to the cops, the children had been living with their paternal aunt. This has aggravated the situation as their father has an ongoing dispute with his sister.