Amod K. Kanth is a social activist, and former policeman who is best known as the founder of the NGO Prayas, being a children rights advocate and chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR). He is also linked with the

Uphaar Cinema fire The Uphaar Cinema fire was one of the worst fire tragedies in recent Indian history. The fire started on Friday, 13 June 1997 at Uphaar Cinema in Green Park, Delhi during the three o'clock screening of the movie ''Border''. Fifty-nine peopl ...

and the

1984 Sikh Riots Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast As ...

Schooling and education

Kanth has a BA in history from M.S.College,

Motihari Motihari is the headquarters of East Champaran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is located District entry point and New City 40.09 kilometres Northeast Mehsi. north of the state capital Patna. Geography Motihari is located on 26°3 ...

and a Master of Arts in Law from the

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE ...

1974 to 1988 - Police Career

Kanth has held multiple important posts including those of the DGP of Goa and

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It share ...

. he has received

President's Police Medal The President's Police Medal is a decoration awarded to members of law enforcement in India. Established on 1 March 1951, the medal was originally called the President's Police and Fire Service Medal. The medal is awarded for either gallantry or di ...

s and Gallantry Award for saving thousands of victims of riots in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...

. He was involved in some important investigations including the assassination of

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to bec ...

and Lalit Maken. he has also undertaken several investigations into narcotics and child abuse

1984 Sikh Riots

Although not directly accused there is a case pending in court requesting the stripping away of his medal which was awarded for maintaining law and order during the

1984 anti-Sikh riots The 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh Massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs ...

. The case specifically is that of the death of

Narinder Singh Narinder Singh Kapany FREng (31 October 1926 – 4 December 2020) was an Indian-American physicist best known for his work on fiber optics.

while he was in Police Custody. The court has rejected this plea.

1997 Uphaar Tragedy

There is a case pending in the

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...

investigating the death by asphyxiation of 59 people in the

. In this case the court has charged Kanth under section 304A (causing death by rash and negligent act), 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act which endangers human life) of IPC (Indian Penal Code). He is also being charged under the Cinamtography Act.

1988 to 2019 - Prayas and other causes

In 1988 Kanth formed Prayas, an organisation that deals with the delivery of welfare, education and protection of children, youths, women and the weaker sections of society through individual, corporate, NGO and governmental development activities. From 2007 to 2011 he was the chairman of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), and in this role he has voiced his concerns and support for the Right to Education Act. He has contributed to various policy discussions of the Indian Government in these fields. He has also participated in youth related initiatives of the UN, UNICEF and US government and in many children and youth related initiatives in India, Nepal and Bangladesh.

Opposing the overturning of Section 377 and LGBT rights

Under his leadership DCPCR was the only government organisation which appealed against the scrapping of

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code Section 377 of the British colonial penal code criminalized all sexual acts "against the order of nature". The law was used to prosecute people engaging in oral and anal sex along with homosexual activity. The penal code remains in many forme ...

In his arguments the attorney Amit Anand Tiwari, advocate for DCPCR, said “We studied various materials from medical journals and found studies that show that children of LGBT parents were more prone to social stigmatisation. In decriminalising homosexuality, the High Court did not devise any protection as far adoption laws were concerned – whether gay and lesbian couples can adopt children, whether they have right to adopt. These issues were not addressed by the High Court order”. Kanth said, “Under the United Nation Convention on Rights of Children and under Indian laws, every child has a right to a family. And family is clearly defined as mother and father. Therefore, the High Court order was a direct denial of the child’s right to a family and right to parenthood”. Interestingly, though these were DCPCR’s reasons for intervening in the case, the issue of protection of child rights finds no mention in the Commission’s final submissions made to the Supreme Court.

2008 to present - Politics

Kanth contested the Sangam Vihar Constituency of Delhi on a

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

ticket in November 2008. Kanth has been honored by Sandeep Marwah with the life membership of International Film And Television Club of

Asian Academy of Film & Television Noida Film City houses the Asian Academy of Film & Television and Marwah Films & Video Studios along with prominent news channels from India. It is located in Sector 16-A Noida, India. It was founded in 1988 by Sandeep Marwah, an Indian film pro ...

Noida Film City Noida Film City houses the Asian Academy of Film & Television and Marwah Films & Video Studios along with prominent news channels from India. It is located in Sector 16-A Noida, India. It was founded in 1988 by Sandeep Marwah, an Indian film pro ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanth, Amod Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Social workers Delhi politicians Indian National Congress politicians from Jharkhand People from Ranchi Delhi University alumni Social workers from Uttarakhand