Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill, 2021

Context: Recently, Rajya Sabha passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children), Amendment Bill, 2021 to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

• The bill was passed in Lok Sabha in March 2021.

Need for Amendment

• As of July 2018, there were 629 adoption cases pending in various courts.
• In order to expedite adoption proceedings, the Bill transfers the power to issue adoption orders to the district magistrate. 
• It addresses several concerns that were flagged by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
• NCPCR audit of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) in 2020 highlights that many CCIs were not registered , some have no toilets and drinking water.
• Rehabilitation of children is not a priority for childcare homes and children are reportedly kept in such institutions to get funds.
• Therefore the bill aimed at strengthening the Child Welfare Committees and providing support and justice to Children .
• Several difficulties faced in implementation of various provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) 2015 have also been addressed.

Key Highlights of the Bill
Empowerment of District Magistrate

• It authorises District Magistrate including Additional District Magistrate to issue adoption orders under Section 61 of the JJ Act, in order to ensure speedy disposal of cases and enhance accountability.
• The District Magistrates have been further empowered to ensure its smooth implementation, as well as garner synergized efforts in favour of children in distress conditions. 
• Any Child Care Institutions shall be registered after considering the recommendations of the District Magistrate.  
• The DM shall independently evaluate the functioning of District Child Protection Units, Child Welfare Committees(CWC), Juvenile Justice Boards, Specialized Juvenile Police Units, Child care Institutions etc.

Child Welfare Committees (CWCs):  The eligibility parameters for the appointment of CWC members have been redefined.

• Criteria for disqualification of the CWC members have also been introduced to ensure that only the persons capable of rendering quality service with requisite competence and integrity are appointed to CWC.

Serious offences: Presently there are three categories (petty, serious and heinous) defined under the Act which are referred to while considering the cases of children in conflict with the law.

• However, it was observed that some of the offences do not strictly fall under any of these categories. 
• It has been decided that offences where the maximum sentence is more than 7 years imprisonment but no minimum sentence has been prescribed or minimum sentence of fewer than 7 years is provided, shall be treated as serious offences within this Act.

Adoption: Presently, the adoption order issued by the court establishes that the child belongs to the adoptive parents. The Bill provides that instead of the court, the District Magistrate (including Additional District Magistrate) will issue such adoption orders.

• Appeals: The Bill provides that any person aggrieved by an adoption order passed by the District Magistrate may file an appeal before the Divisional Commissioner, within 30 days from the date of passage of such order.
• Additional Functions of the District Magistrate: These include: supervising the District Child Protection Unit, and conducting a quarterly review of the functioning of the Child Welfare Committee.
• Designated Court: The Bill proposes that all offences under the earlier Act be tried in children’s court.

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) 2015

• It was introduced and passed in Parliament in 2015 to replace the Juvenile Delinquency Law and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) 2000.
• The Act seeks to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children as ratified by India on December 11, 1992.
• It allows the trial of juveniles in conflict with the law in the age group of 16-18 years as adults, in cases where the crimes were to be determined.
• The nature of the crime, and whether the juvenile should be tried as a minor or a child, was to be determined by a Juvenile Justice Board.
• The Act streamlined adoption procedures for orphans abandoned and surrendered children.
• The act had introduced foster care in India.
• The existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has been given the status of a statutory body to enable it to perform its function more effectively.
• The law had also made provision that while adopting a child, priority is given to disabled children and physically and financially incapable children.
• Special provisions have been made to tackle child offenders committing heinous offences in the age group of 16-18 years.
• The Juvenile Justice Board is given the option to transfer cases of heinous offences by such children to a Children’s Court (Court of Session) after conducting the preliminary assessment.