Juvenile Justice & Child Protection Policy
Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court directed the Assam government to submit a comprehensive status report on the long-pending notification of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules and the State Child Protection Policy by the next date of listing.
The direction was issued by the division bench of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury during the hearing of a public interest litigation (Case No.: PIL(Suo Moto)/1/2018) linked to the case (PIL/60/2019) filed by the charitable organisation Bachpan Bachao Andolan and an individual, Sampurna Behura, seeking the implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules and the Child Protection Policy in the state.
During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioners filed a list of dates on which specific directions were given to the Assam government with respect to the framing and notification of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules as well as the Child Protection Policy.
The court, having considered the chronology of events placed before it, found that despite repeated opportunities granted from time to time and assurances recorded in successive orders, the State has yet to notify the Juvenile Justice Rules and the Child Protection Policy, observing that the issue is not one of mere administrative delay.
The court observed that the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Child) Act 2015 is a beneficial legislation enacted to secure the rights, protection, rehabilitation and welfare of children, particularly those who are in conflict with law and those in need of care and protection.
Also, that any prolonged delay in their finalisation and notification has a direct bearing upon the effective implementation of the legislative scheme and the protection of some of the most vulnerable sections of society.
The court further observed that the record reveals that the court has on several occasions since September 2023 expressed its concern and granted sufficient time to the state authorities to complete the exercise.
Therefore, the court expected all departments concerned to accord the matter the highest priority and ensure that no avoidable procedural impediment is allowed to delay the process any further.
Having regard to the statement of the senior government advocate that the Additional Chief Secretary, Women and Child Development Department, Government of Assam, is personally monitoring the matter and in the expectation that the authorities would treat the matter with the seriousness that it deserves, the Court said it has refrained from issuing any coercive direction for the present.
However, it was made clear that the state government shall place before the court, on the next date fixed, a comprehensive status report indicating the precise stage at which the proposal presently stands, the steps already completed and the definite timeline within which the rules and the policy are proposed to be notified.
The HC expressed hope for tangible progress and the timely conclusion of the long-pending exercise before the next listing date on July 21, 2026.