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Every kid in need must get welfare benefits: Supreme Court

States, UTs directed to ensure registration of all child care institutions by year-end

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Taking note of the serious issues affecting children, the Supreme Court on Friday broadened the ambit and definition of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act and extended benefits of care and protection to all children in need.

“It would be unfortunate if certain categories of children are left out of the definition, even though they need as much care and protection as categories of children specifically enlisted in the definition,” a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said.

Friday’s judgment is significant as the definition of ‘children in need’ according to the JJ Act was widened to include all categories of children who needed help from the state. The top court had pronounced its judgment in a decade-old case pertaining to the protection of child rights and their welfare. Issuing a host of direction, the court directed all states and union territories to ensure the registration of all child care institutions by the end of this year.

“The registration process should also include a data base of all children in need of care and protection which should be updated every month. While maintaining the database, issues of confidentiality and privacy must be kept in mind by the concerned authorities,” the court ruled.

The top court said all institutions must be prepared with a comprehensive child care plan by year-end, and regular inspection of the institutions must be undertaken.

The apex court was first apprised of the situation when a writ petition was taken up on the basis of a media report in July 2007. The report was brought to the court’s attention by one AS Choudhury, along with a letter. The genesis of the letter then led to this petition which was registered as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by the Supreme Court on September 10, 2007.

The court appointed advocate Aparna Bhat as an Amicus Curiae to assist them. Bhat brought forward various issues including sexual abuse and trafficking of children.

Over the years, the apex court passed several orders paying close attention to issues such as trafficking of children, schools being occupied by Central para-military forces and the right to education guaranteed to children require consideration.

In doing so, the scope of the limited petition was enlarged and a host of other topics of interest relevant to the welfare of the children in general were brought under the ambit of this PIL.

Issues pertaining to the implementation of the provisions contained in statutes relating to children such as The Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 was heard at length by the apex court.

The court put emphasis on the “rehabilitation and social re-integration of children in need of care and protection.” It further added that there was no point in wasting useful resources and as such “plans for full and proper utilisation of grants (along with expenditure statements) given by the Union Government under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme” must be in place. “Returning the grants as unspent or casual utilization of the grants will not ensure anybody’s benefit and is effectively wasteful expenditure,” it added.

‘There are several schemes of the Government of India including skill development, vocational training etc which must be taken advantage of keeping in mind the need to rehabilitate such children,” the 45-page judgement read.

A study conducted by an international charity for orphaned and abandoned children -- SOS Children's Villages India – in the year 2011 found that India is home to 20 million orphans, a figure projected to increase by 2021. Combined, the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are home to 6 million orphaned children under the age of 18. By 2021, these states will probably be home to 7.1 million orphans, the study added.

Analysis

After Friday’s judgment, the states are expected to extend welfare benefits to all children who need care and protection
The judgment is significant as the court has evolved stringent measures to prevent abuse of children in orphanages and other child care institutions

The states have been directed to firm up their framework and planning to make it more streamlined and time-bound

According to a 2007 report published by the Ministry of Women and Children

Every fifth child in the world lives in India

Every third malnourished child in the world lives in India

Every second Indian child is underweight

Three out of four children in India are anaemic

Every second new born has reduced learning capacity due to iodine deficiency

Decline in female/male ratio is maximum in 0-6 years: 927 females per 1000 males

Birth registration is just 62% (RGI-2004)

Retention rate at Primary level is 71.01% (Elementary Education in India Progress towards UEE NUEPA Flash Statistics DISE 2005-2006)

Girls' enrollment in schools at primary level is 47.79% (Elementary Education in India Progress towards UEE NUEPA Flash Statistics DISE 2005-2006)

1104 lakh child labour in the country (SRO 2000)

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) is as high as 58 per 1000 live births (SRS- 2005)

Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) is equally high at 301 per 100,000 live births (SRS, 2001-03)

Children born with low birth weight are 46% (NFHS-III)

Children under 3 with anemia are 79% (NFHS-III)

Immunization coverage is very low (polio -78.2%, measles-58.8%, DPT-55.3%, BCG-78% (NFHS-III)

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