MANU/PIBU/0454/2016

Department/Board : Press Information Bureau

Date : 25.05.2016

Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi releases Draft Model Rules under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015

The Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi released the Draft Model Rules under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 in New Delhi today. The draft rules have been released for stakeholder comments and suggestions. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 has come into force from 15th January, 2016 repealing the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.

The Act is a comprehensive law with strengthened provisions for children in conflict with law and those in need of care and protection. Some of the key features include: special provisions for children who commit heinous offences in the age group of 16-18 years; inclusion of new offences committed against children, which were so far not adequately covered under any other law, such as giving intoxicating liquor or narcotic drug or tobacco products to children, sale and procurement of children for any purpose, corporal punishment in child care institutions, etc.; mandatory registration of all Child Care Institutions with punishment in case of non-compliance; and giving statutory status to the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to enable it to perform its function more effectively.

The Draft Model Rules, 2016 that repeal the Model Rules, 2007, are based on the philosophy that children need to be reformed and reintegrated into society. The Rules are appreciative of the development needs of children and therefore best interest of the child along with child friendly procedures is incorporated across the provisions and is the primary consideration.

One of the key features of the JJ Act, 2015 is special treatment of children in the age group of 16-18 years who commit heinous offences. The Draft rules prescribe detailed child friendly procedures for police, Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and Children's Court. The Board and the Children's Court are to adhere to the principle of best interest of the child and the objective of rehabilitation and reintegration of the child in the society. Every state Government is required to set up at least one "place of safety" in a State for the rehabilitation of such children. The Rules prescribe for extensive services to be provided to such children through regular monitoring.

A principle of JJ Act, 2015 is that keeping children in institutional care should be a measure of last resort. The Act therefore provides for various de-institutionalization measures for children such as adoption, foster care and sponsorship. The Draft rules prescribe detailed procedures to give effect to these provisions. Various models of Group foster care were reviewed and studied before drafting the relevant provisions in the Rules. In addition to these, roles and responsibilities of various functionaries responsible to provide care and protection to children have been re-defined to bring clarity.