A member of the Juvenile Justice Board of Srinagar and an official of Integrated Child Protection Scheme have compiled a book on child protection laws, a first in Jammu and Kashmir covering all aspects of juvenile justice in the state.
The book entitled “Juvenile Justice Law in Jammu andKashmir” discusses rules, regulations, guidelines, schemes, government orders,notifications and judicial rulings of Supreme Court of India and High Court ofJ&K regarding child protection.
The book compiled by Khair-un-Nisa, member Juvenile JusticeBoard, Srinagar and Junaid –ul-Islam legal officer for Integrated ChildProtection Scheme (ICPS) is a comprehensive guide to child protection laws andpractice in J&K.
Apart from the Juvenile Justice Act, the book also talksabout the laws related to child and adolescent labour, protection of childrenfrom sexual offences, Smoking Act and many other laws related to juveniles andtheir care and protection.
The book was launched during a two-day national conferenceon Issues and Challenges in Ensuring Happy Childhood organised by department ofsocial work, University of Kashmir in collaboration with government departmentof social welfare and international non-governmental organisation Save theChildren.
Apart from the book, two small booklets on guidelines forspecial juvenile police units and standard of institutions for care andprotection of children were also released during the event.
There was a growing demand, the book reads, “from themembers of the bench and bar as also students to consolidate child laws in asingle place to ease reference and understanding and we came up with thecompilation”.
“This book contains notifications and judicial rulings onthis important legislation (Juvenile Justice ACT). A part of the book isdedicated to institutions of child welfare committees, their composition, powerand scope.”
Another important aspect, the book states, “is prevention ofchildren and prohibition of forcing them into labour. The importantlegislations contained in Child and Adolescent (Prohibition & Regulation)Act 1986 and rules 1988 thereunder also have been included in this compendium.”
The book also discusses protecting children from sexualviolence.
The J&K government has set up a commission in 2018 forprotection of women’s and child rights in the state. These statues have alsobeen included to enable all stakeholders other law enforcers.