The Delhi High Court Friday sought response from the AAP government and the Centre on a public interest litigation seeking eradication of begging by children here.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Amit Bansal issued notice on a PIL by Ajay Gautam and also sought responses from Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights and Delhi Police.

In his petition, Gautam has sought directions to the authorities to rehabilitate children who are beggars and to identify and arrest the persons who are pushing women using toddlers, teenage girls and small children into begging and...crime and exploiting young girls.

Gautam has alleged that in spite of the presence of beggars in every part of the city, the authorities have failed to take any remedial steps to curb the menace.

"Everyone knows that begging mafia is actively behind this menace of begging by the children and they in fact they kidnap, train, force and torture innocent children for begging," the petition states.

It is further said that small children are deliberately harmed and injured to get maximum sympathy of people.

"It has been commonly seen in winters that young girls hold toddlers without clothes to gain maximum sympathy. It is also not out of context to mention here that in many cases these gangs I mafias and young girls intentionally give sedatives to small children to gather sympathy of people risking lives of toddlers as young as 9-12 months," reads the petition.

The petition argues that the Constitution of India mandates the State to make efforts to provide best opportunities for the development of children and ensure that they are not abused.

The matter would be heard next on September 27.