CJ underlines need for people to acknowledge and abide by Act for it to be meaningful

SLSA HOLDS SENSITIZATION PROGRAMME ON JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT 
GANGTOK, l6 Dec: “All declarations and laws are meaningless unless every person decides to acknowledge and abide by them,” expressed the recently appointed Chief Justice of the Sikkim High Court, Justice Permod Kohli, while addressing the first day of a sensitization programme on “Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Child) Act, 2000” organized by the Sikkim State Legal Services Authority at Chintan Bhawan.

He expressed happiness that his first address in Sikkim was on such an important issue and expressed that the matter discussed in the session should be disseminated to the public and help stimulate the society into greater involvement.
Speaking on the topic, he appealed to the gathering to ensure that it is not only when one’s own children are involved in criminal acts that the Juvenile Justice Act gains importance and stressed that sensitization should not be confined to a certain section but should reach all levels of society where everyone should consider themselves as “duty holders rather than stakeholders”.
He informed that though the Act is covered by a single statute, it is processed by different dimensions and has to be perceived and handled in a sensitive manner. Under the present statute, more emphasis is being laid on the ‘protection and care’, he informed.
Presenting the data of children, he drew attention towards the bleaker scenario of children in many parts of the country, which, he expressed, was “disheartening” and underlined that the declarations are basic rights which cannot be taken away.
“The right of a child to live with dignity is the fundamental right” which the people should acknowledge in reality, he expressed, assuring his own commitment to accomplish it.
Retired Judge, High Court of Sikkim, Justice AP Subba, in his address expressed that the topic for the conference was relevant given the contemporary society where the negligence of children has become an apparent fact.
This, he expressed, has given rise to “delinquency”, the problem which is rising rapidly and posing a challenge in almost all countries.
Relating it to the context of the Sikkim, he expressed that the problem is not new and expressed fear that it is taking a serious form now. Throwing light on the details of the Juvenile System he informed that under the Act reformative theory is practiced where the emphasis is on the treatment rather than punishment unlike in the past.
Sharing various examples, he highlighted the various aspects of the Juvenile Justice Act, its introduction by the Indian Constitution, the importance of its introduction and its implementation in the context of Sikkim.
He also mentioned the good things brought by the system like the association with NGOs as well its shortcomings like the possibility of misuse of the Act. Lack of proper records, failure in the execution of the Act, lack of awareness among the agencies, poor execution of its functions were some shortcomings that he pointed out and as such appealed for larger awareness.
He further expressed the need of training institutes catering to all aspects of the Act and that such programmes should be held more frequently.
Judge, High Court of Sikkim, Justice SP Wangdi, in turn, informed that the Act has a greater meaning and the subject demands to be one of the priorities of the national level agenda.
He appealed to the police personnel and the NGOs to take up such cases seriously and approach them with more sensitivity.
DGP Jasbir Singh presented the importance and the mechanism of Juvenile System in the State as well as at the district-level, its implementation in Sikkim and the constraints that the police personnel face while dealing with such cases. Though there is a lack of facilities catering to the Act, he pointed out and informed about the Special Juvenile Police Unit.
On the difficulties in the implementation of the Act, he mentioned the age of the child to be the trickiest factor. He also expressed his concern over the frequent minor crimes being committed in Sikkim by juveniles.
The working session was addressed by the resource person, Co-Founder, HAQ, Bharti Ali who spoke on the topic, “Child Protection and Principles of Juvenile Justice” and on “Juvenile Justice Law: Salient Features”.
Also present on the occasion was Minister, Commerce and Industries, Neeru Sewa.