Prevention must remain the cornerstone of the juvenile justice system, with efforts focused on addressing children’s vulnerabilities at the grassroots to prevent them from coming into conflict with the law or entering institutional care, Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court Justice Harish Tandon said.
Addressing a state-level stakeholders’ consultation on the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 in Bhubaneswar, Justice Tandon said, “Prevention must be at the heart of juvenile justice. We must address vulnerabilities at the grassroots so that children do not come into conflict with the law or enter institutional care.”
The consultation, titled “Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015: A Decade of Implementation and the Way Forward,” brought together senior judicial officers, government officials, police officers, child rights experts, civil society representatives and other stakeholders to review the implementation of the Act in Odisha over the past decade and identify measures to strengthen the state’s juvenile justice system. The event was jointly organised by the Juvenile Justice Committee of the High Court of Orissa and the Department of Women & Child Development, Government of Odisha, in association with UNICEF Odisha.
Among those present were Justice Savitri Ratho, Chairperson of the Juvenile Justice Committee of the High Court of Orissa; Dr Mrinalini Darswal, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Department of Women & Child Development; and Prasanta Dash, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Odisha. Participants represented the judiciary, police, the Departments of Women & Child Development and School & Mass Education, the State Commission for Persons with Disabilities, child protection institutions, legal services authorities, academia, UNICEF and civil society organisations.
The discussions focused on strengthening preventive interventions, rehabilitation, family-based care and institutional mechanisms for children in conflict with the law as well as those in need of care and protection. During the inaugural session, Justice Savitri Ratho and Dr Mrinalini Darswal presented an overview of the Juvenile Justice Act and its implementation in Odisha. Prasanta Dash reflected on the Act’s decade-long implementation and underscored the importance of adopting preventive approaches to child protection.
The consultation featured four thematic technical sessions. The first panel examined the rights of children in conflict with the law, covering preliminary assessments in heinous offences, pre-production and post-production procedures, and rehabilitation measures. Kalpana Purushothaman served as the resource person and facilitator for the session, which featured Shyni S, Additional Director General of Police, Crime Against Women & Children Wing, Odisha; Hara Prasad Pattnaik, Additional District Judge-cum-Presiding Officer, Children’s Court, Khordha; Ashish Pattnaik, Civil Judge (Senior Division) and Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board, Rayagada; Manan Biswas, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF; and Susmita Pattnaik, District Child Protection Officer, Sambalpur.