New Delhi: The Lok Sabha Wednesday passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021 that has widened the ambit of ‘serious offences’ that a juvenile can be charged with.
According to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which this new bill amends, juvenile offences can be categorised as petty, serious and heinous.
With this bill, the government has brought offences that can garner a maximum punishment of more than seven years and a minimum punishment that is not prescribed or is of less than seven years under the ambit of ‘serious offences’.
It also makes offences with punishments ranging from three to seven years as cognisable from non-cognisable. This means that a juvenile accused of such offences can be arrested without a warrant.
The new bill also empowers district magistrates (DMs) and additional DMs to issue adoption orders, in a bid to strengthen the child care system and adoption processes.
It also changes the criteria for appointments to child welfare committees (CWC) and makes it mandatory for the personnel to either have a background in or be a practicing professional in health, education or children’s welfare.
In the Lok Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said the “amendment is to ensure that protection of children becomes a priority”.
Also read: Over 9,000 URLs blocked by govt in 2020, thrice more than in 2019, minister tells Parliament
Bill passed unanimously
The bill was passed unanimously in the Lok Sabha, with most MPs welcoming the legislature.
Independent MP Navneet Rana lauded the bill and said that it corrects past wrongs, citing the 2012 Delhi gangrape-murder convicts.
“In the Nirbhaya case we saw that one of the rapists was a juvenile in that he was just a few months less than 18 so he got off with only 3 years punishment. This amendment corrects that and I welcome it,” she said in the session.
Some MPs, however, suggested some additional changes to make the amended bill cater more broadly to the needs of children.
NCP MP Supriya Sule welcomed the legislation but said that it is important for the government to also look into foster care.
Sule recommended that the Centre “make procedures for adoption and fostering simple and transparent, while also maintaining checks for child abuse”.
BJP MP Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that mechanisms should be created to ensure that children have access to open spaces in CWCs.
‘DMs not overburdened’
Another major concern that was raised in the Lok Sabha was related to the overburdening of DMs, with the amendment.
However, Irani said that the amendments only make the DMs ‘synergising officers’.
“There is a fear that DMs are already overloaded and protection of children cannot become their priority. At present DMs are already supposed to review the work of CWCs and Juvenile Justice Board. Today’s amendment takes review a step further and focuses on administrative synergy. It’s not that JJB and CWC will stop working and all the work will come on DMs. DMs will only become the synergising officer,” she said.
Irani also promised to look into simplifying foster care rules and also lauded the house for its consensus on the bill.
“This house was witness to consensus politically on a bill that seeks to better protect our children,” she said.
(Edited by Rachel John)
Also read: Over 42,000 posts reserved for SC, ST & OBC vacant in union ministries, govt tells Lok Sabha
The bill amends the offences would be non-cognizable.
The act mentioned it as cognizable and non-bailable.
Well written article.. thanks for sharing.
This bill is gives more stringent to the DMS to take action.