Monsoon Session: Rajya Sabha passes Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill, 2021

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, which seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

The Bill was introduced in Parliament by the government in the Budget session this year. It was passed in Lok Sabha on March 24.

The bill was introduced by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani in the Rajya Sabha.

Irani while introducing the bill at the Upper House stressed the necessity for entrusting the District Magistrates with the responsibility of care and protection of vulnerable children in light of the prevailing inadequacies in the system.

She recounted the commitment of the Parliament towards prioritising India's children above all issues.

The amendments include authorising the 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 and enhance accountability.

The District Magistrates have been further empowered under the Act, to ensure its smooth implementation, as well as garner synergized efforts in favour of children in distress conditions.

As per the amended provisions of the Act, any Child Care Institutions shall be registered after considering the recommendations of the District Magistrate. The DM shall independently evaluate the functioning of District Child Protection Units, Child Welfare Committees, Juvenile Justice Boards, Specialized Juvenile Police Units, and Child care Institutions.

The eligibility parameters for the appointment of Child Welfare Committees members have been redefined in the amendment.

Criteria for disqualification of the Child Welfare Committees members have also been introduced to ensure that only the persons capable of rendering quality service with requisite competence and integrity are appointed to Child Welfare Committees.

Presently, there are three categories (petty, serious, and heinous) defined under the Act which are referred to, while considering the cases of children in conflict with the law. However, it was observed that some of the offenses do not strictly fall under any of these categories. It has been decided that offenses where the maximum sentence is more than seven years imprisonment but no minimum sentence has been prescribed or a minimum sentence of fewer than seven years is provided, shall be treated as serious offenses within this Act.

Several difficulties faced in the implementation of various provisions of the Act have also been addressed and Suitable amendments to remove these difficulties arising in the interpretation of various provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and to clarify the scope of certain provisions of the Act have also been introduced.

( With inputs from ANI )