‘Society should play its part in recognising child rights’

Child rights have been neglected in India and it’s now that the society should play an important role in recognising them, Justice Madan B. Lokur of the Supreme Court of India said.

Speaking at the inauguration of a child-friendly court at HACA Bhavan on Saturday, Justice Lokur expressed concern over the kind of future the country would have if the rights of its children were not protected.

“It’s my belief that we have neglected children’s rights for a long time. We had the Juvenile Justice Act in 1985-86, but hardly anyone knew about it. We had the Juvenile Justice Act of 2000, but it was not implemented. The then Chief Justice of India received complaints in 2005 that there is a law for protection of children, but nothing is being done about it,” Justice Lokur said. He added that it’s only in the last couple of years that “things have picked up”.

Justice Lokur lauded the efforts of the police, who he said were the ‘first responders’, and encouraged them to be with people. This, he said, would build confidence.

The child-friendly court is not in a court complex. There are separate entrances for the victim and the accused so as to prevent any kind of contact with each other. To prevent all contact with the accused, a video-linkage facility enables the judge, present in the court hall, to speak to a parent or guardian-accompanied victim sitting in a separate room. Alternatively, if the victim is in the court-hall, a one-sided mirror will prevent the child from seeing the accused, who is housed in another room.

The court has been designed in compliance with the Supreme Court and POCSO Act guidelines.

Acting Chief Justice of the Hyderabad High Court Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, DGP M. Mahender Reddy, IG (Law and Order) Swati Lakra and Women and Child Welfare Department Secretary M. Jagadeeshwar also spoke.