Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill 2021

29-Jul-2022: Child Care Institutions

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is administering the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act, 2015) which is the primary legislation for ensuring safety, security, dignity and well-being of children. The Act provides for protection of children in need of care and protection and those in conflict with law by catering to their basic needs through care, protection, development, treatment and social re-integration. It defines standards of care and protection to secure the best interest of child.

Under the JJ Act, 2015 (Sections 27-30), the Child Welfare Committees have been empowered to take decisions with regard to the children in need of care and protection, keeping their best interest in mind. They are also mandated to monitor the functioning of the Child Care Institutions (CCIs). Similarly, the Juvenile Justice Boards are empowered to take decisions regarding the welfare of children in conflict with law (Sections 04-09). At the national and state level, the JJ Act, 2015 provides the National/State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights to monitor the implementation of the Act (Section 109). The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was constituted in 2007 to ensure protection of rights of all children.

Under section 54 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the State Governments have to appoint Inspection Committees and under section 53, to assess the basic facilities and infrastructure of the Institution for maintaining their standards. Also section 32 to 34 of JJ Act, 2015 mentions the procedure for mandatory reporting including offence for non-reporting and penalty. Amendments in JJ Act in 2021 have made District Magistrate as the nodal authority in district for child care and protection. He also has powers of inspection of CCIs.

Further, The Ministry regularly follows up with the State/ UT Governments so as to ensure that Child Care Institutions (CCIs) adhere to standards of care as per the JJ Act, 2015 provisions. Various advisories have been sent to all State/UTs regarding mandatory inspection of all CCIs.

The Ministry is implementing a centrally sponsored scheme namely Mission Vatsalya to support to States and UT Governments for delivering services for children in need of care and in difficult circumstances, including for the children in Child Care Institutions (CCIs), which provide/support for boarding & lodging; age-appropriate education; access to vocational training; recreation; health care; counselling etc. Under the scheme guidelines, States/UTs have been instructed for mandatory Police verification of the CCI staff and other staff engaged at State and District level, prior to their appointment to prevent such abuse.

9-Feb-2022: Regular Monitoring Mechanism For Protection Of Child Rights

Under the JJ Act 2015 (Sections 27-30), the Child Welfare Committees have been empowered to take decisions with regard to the children in need of care and protection, keeping their best interest in mind. They are also mandated to monitor the function of the Child Care Institutions (CCIs). Similarly, the Juvenile Justice Boards are empowered to take decisions regarding the welfare of children in conflict with Law (Sections 04-09). At the National and State level, the JJ Act authorizes the National/State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights to monitor the implementation of the Act (Section 109).

Further, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was constituted in 2007 to ensure protection of rights of all children.

The Ministry is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, namely, Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme – Mission Vatsalya to support to States and UT Governments for delivering services for children in need of care and in difficult circumstances including for Child Care Institutions (CCIs), which inter-alia support for age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counselling etc.

30-Jul-2021: Homeless Children

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) is the primary law for children in the country. As per Section 2 (14) (vi) of the JJ Act, a child who does not have parents and no one is willing to take care of, or whose parents have abandoned or surrendered him is included as a “child in need of care and protection.” The Act provides a security net of service delivery structures including measures for institutional and non-institutional care to ensure comprehensive well-being of children in distress situations. The Ministry is implementing a centrally sponsored Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme under the umbrella Integrated Child Development Services scheme for supporting the children in difficult circumstances. Under the scheme institutional care is provided through Child Care Institutes (CCIs), as a rehabilitative measure. The programmes and activities in Homes inter-alia include age-appropriate education, access to vocational training, recreation, health care, counselling etc. Under the non-institutional care component, support is extended for adoption, foster care and sponsorship. Further CPS also provides for “After care” services after the age of 18 years to help sustain them during the transition from institutional to independent life. The data for homeless children is not maintained centrally by the Ministry. The primary responsibility of execution of the Act and implementation of Scheme lies with the States/UTs. "Mission Vatsalya" subsuming CPS Scheme, has been announced in Union Budget 2021-22, with a Budget of Rs.900 crore allocated for current financial year.

28-Jul-2021: Parliament Passes Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill 2021

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, which seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, was passed in the Rajya Sabha, today. The bill was introduced in the Parliament by the Government in the Budget session this year. It was passed in Lok Sabha on 24.03.2021.

While introducing the bill, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development stressed upon the necessity for entrusting District Magistrates with the responsibility of care and protection of vulnerable children in light of the prevailing inadequacies in the system. She recounted the commitment of the Parliament towards prioritising India’s children above all issues.

The amendments include authorizing District Magistrate including Additional District Magistrate to issue adoption orders under Section 61 of the JJ Act, in order to ensure speedy disposal of cases and enhance accountability. The District Magistrates have been further empowered under the Act, to ensure its smooth implementation, as well as garner synergized efforts in favour of children in distress conditions. As per the amended provisions of the Act, any Child Care Institutions shall be registered after considering the recommendations of the District Magistrate. The DM shall independently evaluate the functioning of District Child Protection Units, Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards, Specialized Juvenile Police Units, Child care Institutions etc.

The eligibility parameters for appointment of CWC members have been redefined. Criteria for disqualification of the CWC members has also been introduced to ensure that only the persons capable of rendering quality service with requisite competence and integrity are appointed to CWC.

Presently there are three categories (petty, serious and heinous) defined under the Act which are referred to, while considering the cases of children in conflict with law. However, it was observed that some of the offences do not strictly fall under any of these categories. It has been decided that offences where the maximum sentence is more than 7 years imprisonment but no minimum sentence has been prescribed or minimum sentence of less than 7 years is provided, shall be treated as serious offences within this Act.

Several difficulties faced in implementation of various provisions of the Act have also been addressed and Suitable amendments to remove these difficulties arising in the interpretation of various provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and to clarify the scope of certain provisions of the Act have also been introduced.