Juvenile Justice System Must Prioritise Dignity, Rehabilitation of Children: Chhattisgarh HC Chief Justice
Raipur: Chhattisgarh High Court Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha said the Juvenile Justice System must prioritise the dignity, compassion, rehabilitation and timely intervention of children rather than punitive measures.
The 11th edition of the state-level stakeholders’ consultation on the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 concluded at the Vivekananda Auditorium of the Chhattisgarh State Judicial Academy, Bilaspur. The consultation was held on the theme “A Decade of Implementation and the Way Forward.”
Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha, who inaugurated the consultation as the chief guest, said the completion of 10 years of implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act provided an opportunity to assess its achievements and identify the gaps that still need to be addressed.
He said the effectiveness of the Juvenile Justice System should be judged by how every child coming into contact with the law is treated—with dignity, fairness, compassion and sensitivity.
Emphasising “Best Interest of the Child” as the central principle, Chief Justice Sinha said children in conflict with the law and those requiring care and protection should not be viewed merely through their circumstances or vulnerabilities.
He advocated a restorative and rehabilitative approach, along with early identification of problems and timely intervention. He also stressed close coordination among the judiciary, police, Juvenile Justice Boards, Child Welfare Committees and District Child Protection Units for effective implementation of the law.
The Chief Justice further said that judicial officers handling child-related matters must understand child psychology, trauma and developmental needs while dealing with such cases.
“The way we treat our children today will determine the kind of society we build tomorrow,” Sinha said.
The consultation was organised by the POCSO Committee and Juvenile Justice Committee of the High Court of Chhattisgarh, in collaboration with the Chhattisgarh State Judicial Academy and the State Legal Services Authority.
High Court Judges Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi, Rakesh Mohan Pandey, Ravindra Kumar Agrawal and Bibhu Datta Guru chaired and co-chaired two technical sessions.
Judges Sanjay K Agrawal, Parth Prateem Sahu, Radhakishan Agrawal and Amitendra Kishore Prasad were also present.
The consultation was attended by the Registrar General and registry officials, along with representatives of UNICEF, Chhattisgarh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Women and Child Development Department, law enforcement agencies, Special Juvenile Police Units, NGOs and civil society organisations.
The discussions provided a platform to review the implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act over the past decade and deliberate on measures to strengthen child protection mechanisms in Chhattisgarh.
