The cabinet has given its nod for amendments to the the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 to introduce measures for strengthening Child Protection set-up under the Act.
The amendments include authorising 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. Section 61 deals with court procedure to be followed before adoption order is issued and the amendment seeks to widen the jurisdiction by letting Additional District Magistrate also adjudicate upon adoption orders so they may be processed faster.
The Indian Express reported that Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said that in every district, the district magistrate and the additional district magistrate will get the power to monitor functions of agencies responsible for implementation of the Act, and the district child protection unit will function under the District Magistrate.
The amendment will also introduce a background check mechanism for appointing members of child welfare committees as well as of organizations willing to run a child care institution. As per IE, Following the amendments, before registration of such an institution, the district magistrate will conduct its capacity and background check and then submit the recommendations to the state government, the minister said.
Further, the scope of the Act will be expanded by including Child victims of trafficking and drug abuse and those abandoned by their guardians under the definition of “child in need of care”. Presently, under section 14 of the Act, “child in need of care and protection” includes children who are homeless, found begging, found in abusive households, mentally ill, abandoned by parents, parents are untraceable, victims of armed conflict.
The amendment also seeks to include an additional category of offences apart from the 3 categories of petty, serious and heinous crimes already provided for in the Act. “One more category will be included that offences where the sentence is more than seven years but no minimum sentence is prescribed or a minimum sentence of less than seven years is provided shall be treated as serious offences under the Act,” Irani said.
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