Siblings, 21 and 8, take parents to court over mobile screen time restrictions

The kids were scolded for excessive usage of mobile phones. (Representational)

A couple in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, faced legal action from their own children after scolding them for excessive use of mobile phones and television, NDTV reported.

This unusual incident, which has stirred local and national conversations about parenting and children's rights, unfolded on October 25, 2021, when a 21-year-old daughter and her 8-year-old brother filed a police case against their parents.

The siblings approached the Chandan Nagar police station, alleging that their parents' reprimands had escalated to physical punishment.

The police registered a case and invoked stringent charges under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 294 (uttering obscenities), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (common intention), along with sections 75 (cruelty to child) and 82 (corporal punishment) of the Juvenile Justice Act, NDTV reported.

These charges could potentially lead to a prison term of up to seven years for the parents.

Advocate Dharmendra Chaudhary, representing the parents, revealed that the High Court had issued an interim stay on the trial. He argued that the parents were merely exercising normal parental discipline, a practice common in many households dealing with the challenge of managing children's screen time.

The police acted unilaterally without considering their side of the story, the parents stated in their court defense. "Every house is troubled by children's addiction to mobile and TV. Scolding children is a normal thing. This happens in every house," the parents argued in court, NDTV reported.

Since the filing of the case, the children have been residing with their paternal aunt, which has further complicated family dynamics, given an existing dispute between the father and his sister.