Kerala - Kochi   

Call to implement Juvenile Justice Act

Kochi: Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, on Friday, stressed the need for implementing the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act by all State governments.

Inaugurating a seminar on “Furthering justice delivery standards for children,” organised by the Legal Assistance Forum (LAF) Kerala chapter, he said various laws for the protection of children had been enacted in the country.

However, the governments were not keen on implementing them. The Juvenile Justice Act provided for setting up juvenile courts, boards and homes. But a majority of the States had not taken steps to implement the Act.

He said the child labour problem could be reduced if the law-and-order situation and enforcement of laws against child labour were good. He said rate of school dropouts was directly related to the prevalence of child labour.

He suggested that a provision be made for penalising parents whose children dropped out of school.

The Chief Justice said that if a child dropped out of school, it could be presumed that it was a victim of child labour.

In fact, the number of dropouts among girls was higher than boys.

Speaking at the seminar, Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy emphasised the need for creating more awareness of the laws on protection of children. She said the government would appoint child protection officers across the State.

Vijay Hansaria, president of LAF, presided. J.B. Koshy and R. Basant, judges of the Kerala High Court, and Sonykutty George, project officer, UNICEF, spoke.

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