The High Court of Uttarakhand in Nainital has directed the secretary of the Uttarakhand social welfare department to submit the reply regarding a case on the absence of a shelter home for destitute children in the state, within a time period of three weeks. The petitioner Kalika Prasad Kala had filed a public interest litigation in the Uttarakhand High Court stating that the state’s social welfare department has not built shelter homes for the destitute children in the state. This despite the fact that such shelter homes are meant to be constructed in each state of India under the central government’s integrated child protection scheme. The social welfare department of Uttarakhand has not taken any steps in this regard, stated the petitioner. The hearing of this PIl was undertaken by the high court divisional bench comprising chief justice KM Joseph and justice VK Bist.