Telangana CM Revanth Reddy orders child online safety framework amid rising cyber threats | Hyderabad News
Hyderabad: Calling for a coordinated response to the growing threat of cybercrimes against children, chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday directed officials to prepare a comprehensive child online safety framework in consultation with the high court and Telangana State Legal Services Authority (TGSLSA), stressing that protecting children and women remains the govt’s foremost priority.Addressing the inaugural session of the National Legal Services Authority’s (NALSA) two-day south zone regional conference on ‘Enhancing access to justice for children in Cyberspace: Preventing Online Sexual Exploitation and Strengthening Child Friendly Justice and Protection’ in Hyderabad, Revanth said the proposed framework should focus on prevention, protection and speedy justice for child victims of online crimes.He said parents must play a central role in ensuring children’s online safety and urged every parent and child to remember two key helpline numbers: 1930 for cybercrime complaints and 1098 for child assistance.Parents, he advised, should be curious rather than judgemental about their children’s online activities. “Speak to them, know them, know what they are doing online,” the chief minister said.Highlighting Telangana’s child-friendly support mechanisms, Revanth said: “Justice is not only about conviction. It is about restoration,” while noting that the internet had not created such crimes but had made it easier to organise them across borders.The chief minister also launched the TGSLSA Freedom from Bonded Labour–Legal Aid, Rescue, Rehabilitation and Re-integration Scheme, 2026, inaugurated the ‘Commitment Wall’ and flagged off ‘Nyaya Ratham-Justice at the Doorstep’, an initiative aimed at making justice more accessible, affordable and expeditious.Supreme Court judge and NALSA executive chairperson Justice Vikram Nath said technology must serve childhood and never become an instrument of exploitation.Warning that artificial intelligence was making online risks more complex, he said: “The system cannot wait for a child to become a victim.” Referring to recent Supreme Court directions on victim-centred action plans against exploitative gangs and cyber-enabled human trafficking, he said legal services authorities could serve as a bridge between children and the justice system.Union minister of State for law and justice Arjun Ram Meghwal called for school-based legal literacy programmes and digital literacy initiatives for parents to counter threats such as online grooming and child sexual abuse material.Citing Article 39A of the Constitution, Meghwal underscored the importance of counselling, victim compensation, local-language awareness material and legal camps to deliver “justice at the doorstep”.Recalling his childhood in Hyderabad, Justice PS Narasimha of Supreme Court said time remained the cheapest and most effective safeguard for children. He noted that modern work pressures and cyberspace often deprived families of quality time and linked the issue to declining fertility rates and ageing societies.Justice Alok Aradhe of Supreme Court said safeguarding children online was a constitutional obligation, not charity. Pointing to anonymous accounts, encrypted messaging platforms, cross-border offenders and disappearing digital evidence, he stressed the need for proper preservation of evidence, free legal services and greater awareness among parents, teachers and communities.Telangana high court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh delivered the inaugural address, while Justice P Sam Koshy, executive chairman of TGSLSA, proposed the vote of thanks.Chief Justices from southern high courts, judges from Telangana and other states, and representatives of NALSA, TGSLSA attended the inaugural session.
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