The Hindu : National : 5,000 cases pending against juveniles

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5,000 cases pending against juveniles

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Over 5,000 cases are pending against juveniles, many of whom have been languishing for over 12 years, Santha Sinha, Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said on Saturday.

Recently the commission visited many States to review implementation of government policies on children and found that there was almost no provision for or linkage to remedial bridge school education for children with limited or disrupted education.

“Our imperative must be to ensure that all children coming into juvenile justice system are sent back to school and their families. In fact, the extension of the right to education through appropriate remedial mainstreaming is one of the most important factors which can fight criminalisation and institutionalisation of these children.”

She was addressing the inaugural session of the first national consultation with representatives of the judiciary, the police and State governments here.

Over the past few months the NCPCR had established independent expert committees focussed on children’s homes and the Juvenile Justice Boards to identify the gaps in the delivery of justice and implementation of Juvenile Justice Act, and to remove the tendency to treat children as criminals or put them in homes and forget about them. Studies showed that the time children spent in the institution was too long most of the time, and the rate of restoration to families was not satisfactory.

Rehabilitation of children with proper education and their protection against abuse required greater attention, the chairperson said.

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