Parl passes amendment Bill to strengthen juvenile justice law
New Delhi: Parliament passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, which seeks to increase the role of district magistrates and additional district magistrates in matters concerning child care and adoption.
The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha in March 2021.
Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani moved the Bill in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday and it was passed amid a ruckus as the Opposition parties kept up their protests over Pegasus snooping row, farm laws and price rise.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, which seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, proposes to increase the role of district magistrates and additional district magistrates in matters concerning child care and adoption, she said.
"The children of our country deserve a united house to support the amendments proposed. The amendments empower the district magistrates, enhance CWC (child welfare committee) and enhance accountability. Hence I beseech that this House irrespective of its political differences stand together in service of our children," Irani said amid protests.
According to the amendments, background and educational qualification checks will be included in the process of selection of a member of a child welfare committee.
"If an individual has a record of violation of human rights, that individual can never be appointed as a member of the child welfare committee. If an individual is convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude and has not been granted pardon, that individual cannot serve as a member of the child welfare committee. If an individual has ever abused a child, employed a child labour or indulged in immoral acts, that individual cannot serve in the child welfare committee," Irani said.
"To ensure that there is absolutely no conflict of interest, those individuals who run child care institutions or other NGOs that profit from the government, who are from the management part of child care institutions, they cannot be a part of child welfare committees," she said.
