The fate of the 10-year-old child labour, rescued from the clutches of his employer on April 9 near Shastri Nagar police station, still hangs in balance.

The child welfare committee, before which the case was put up on Thursday, took a decision that the boy would continue to live in Apna Ghar (a special home run by the social welfare department) till the next hearing.

An official of Apna Ghar said: "The case was heard by the child welfare committee today (Thursday). The committee decided that the boy would continue to live in Apna Ghar till the next hearing, scheduled to be held on April 21. The boy is much better now. His mental and physical condition has improved a lot."

The Telegraph has already highlighted in its April 11 edition, "Mother's comfort eludes kid", that how the government rules had come in the way of the little soul to get solace. The boy is not being allowed to go home because the authorities concerned are taking time in completing the whole process.

Child welfare committee chairperson Manju Sharma did not reveal the process, which have to be completed, so that the boy could be handed over to his family. "We have not completed the whole process. Some formalities have to be fulfilled. Only then, we would be able to hand over the boy to his family. The boy would have to live in Apna Ghar till the committee's next hearing. I can't divulge you any more details," said Sharma over phone.

Experts, however, said keeping the boy in special home for long duration is against the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act. Daisy Narayan, who has held the committee chairman's post for seven years, said the boy should not be kept in the special home for any longer rather he should be handed over to his family.

"There is no legal obligations for the child. I cannot understand why he is not being allowed to go back to his family. Special homes cannot be substitute for parents' home. Even the Child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act says that no child should be retained in any special home for a longer period. In fact, the child should be allowed to back to his/her family as soon as his family has been properly identified."

The maternal uncle of the boy said the condition of the child's mother had worsened. "The boy's mother is pregnant. She does not afford to take tension in these conditions but anyone at her place would not have been calm and obviously she has lost her mental peace. Sometimes she does not eat food, then we have to force her to eat. We don't know why the authorities are taking so much time to send back our boy," said Manoj Mahto, maternal uncle of the boy over phone from Motihari.

While on one hand the mother and the child are suffering at their ends to accept the harsh reality, police said they were clueless about the whereabouts of the builder, Anil Kumar. "The builder is absconding. We have not come across any substantial clue so far," said Sachivalay additional superintendent of police Shibli Nomai.