CHENNAI: The NGO founded by Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi moved the Madras High Court on Tuesday seeking directions to the Tamil Nadu government to draft holistic guidelines fixing the role and responsibility of each stakeholder while rehabilitating children in need of protection and care under conflict with the law as directed by the Supreme Court.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan, founded by Satyarthi who won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, in the petition sought adherence to the 2018 Supreme Court directions to all state governments on the
effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act 2000.
The petition read, ".... over a year since the judgement of the Supreme Court on February 9, 2018 yet the directions of the Supreme Court have not been complied by the state and other agencies. The continuous non-implementation of the directions has hampered the realisation of the object and also the purpose of the Act, which is to ensure that the needs of children are met and their human rights are protected."
The petitioner also said instances of abuse in child care institutions and beyond continue only due to the apathy and indifference of officials who have failed to perform their duties.
"The state governments must ensure that all positions in the JJBs and CWCs are filled up expeditiously and in accordance with the Model Rules or the rules framed by them. Any delay in filling up the positions might adversely impact on children and this should be avoided," said the petition.
Despite the detailed guidelines of the Supreme Court on the functioning of child protection bodies, the website of the Tamil Nadu State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (TNSCPCR) does not contain any information on the annual reports, which violates the order, said the petition.
"...there also remains a high pendency of inquiries in Juvenile Justice Boards in the state. Therefore, the interference of this court is highly necessary to look into whether the authorities are
fulfilling the mandates of the roles that have been assigned to them," said the petition.
The petition sought the strict implementation of the Supreme Court guidelines and also initiated departmental proceedings against public servants for dereliction of duties entrusted under the child
protection laws and also for the TNSCPCR to conduct an annual social audit.
The counsel for the petitioner, during the hearing on Tuesday before the two-member bench of M Sathyanarayanan and R Hemalatha, submitted that the petition be tagged along with the suo motu proceedings initiated by the Madras High Court on missing children cases.
The bench then directed that the petition be tagged to the batch of suo motu cases.
The court directed the state to file a report on the petition and adjourned the hearing to January 20.