Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Setting up of Juvenile Justice Boards in districts likely to be postponed

Sangeeth Kurian

Deadlock in the appointment of its members

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The constitution of Juvenile Justice Boards in most of the districts in the State are likely to get postponed indefinitely owing to a deadlock in the appointment of its members.

The apprehension was raised in a report submitted by the Legislative Committee before the UDF Government in March. The committee submitted the 24-page report, which includes suggestions and recommendations, after visiting various Government-run juvenile homes across the State and also after taking evidence from the principal secretary of the Social Welfare Department.

As per the report, the setting up of the Juvenile Justice Boards, a body that deals exclusively and sympathetically with all the legal proceedings relating to children who are in conflict with law, is yet to take place in most of the districts save Kollam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode, as the Government claims to have found the names of a number of `ineligible' candidates in the proposed list of the Juvenile Justice board members (a total of five persons, including two women) forwarded by the district judge in consultation with the District Collectors. However, the principal secretary, from whom the committee took evidence, was unable to explain how the Government arrived at such a conclusion or the yardstick used to arrive at it, the report noted.

The setting up of Child Welfare Committees in every district to rehabilitate destitute children was another aspect highlighted by the committee. At present, the committees are functioning only in Idukki, Thrissur and Kozhikode.

The committee expressed its displeasure that the boards and welfare committees have not been constituted even two years after the promulgation of the Kerala Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children's) Rules 2003. The committee also termed the version proffered by the principal secretary regarding the setting up of the boards and committees as `unbelievable.'

Yet another aspect highlighted by the committee in its report is the lack of adequate food for the inmates in most of the juvenile homes in the State.

The committee noted that the `diet scale' recommended for the inmates of observation home, special home and children's home are far from satisfactory.

The lack of teachers in schools attached to juvenile homes was another problem that came to the notice of the committee.

The legislative committee has also recommended that the benefits of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, such as distributing free text books and scholarships, currently eligible for students studying in schools coming under the Education Department, should also be made available to the children studying in schools attached to the homes.

The five-member legislative committee headed by C.P. Mohammed also included M.C. Moideen, Mathai Chacko A.D. Musthafa and Ludy Luiz.

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