JJ panel-SC's handbook on child rights a need of the hour: Activists

CHENNAI: With a crucial need arising to educate and elaborate on the various nuances in cases related to children, the Supreme Court and the Juvenile Justice Committee had recently released a handbook on 'child rights and the law'. Interestingly, the timing could not have been right as the TN State Policy for Children, too, had expired last year, urging the government to revisit the policy and inculcate child legal rights for the state. Meanwhile, stakeholders welcome the handbook and call it a need of the hour.

The SC released the handbook with JJC under the Centre for Research and Planning (CRP), a policy centre of the SC, as the number of cases mount and each of them bringing different challenges to the fore.

The handbook highlights that the legal framework governing child rights in India is extensive yet fragmented. Hence, the document will provide insights to legal practitioners and child rights activists, among others, to understand child rights and law better.

Besides highlighting vital cases and the need for such a document, the handbook also detailed the responsibilities to be taken by each state.

The responsibilities of the state include: states protecting children from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury, abuse, and neglect, including sexual exploitation (Article 19); states providing parentless children with suitable alternative care (Article 20); disabled children having the right to special treatment, education, and care (Article 23); states ensuring the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health (Article 24) and states protecting children from economic exploitation among others.

Hailing the move, child rights activist A Devanayan said, "It is highly appreciated and welcomed that the SC realised the need for this particular kind of handbook, which will aid everyone working for child rights."

However, as the particular document is in text form, Devanayan, the founder and director of Thozhamai, a civil society organisation, calls to simplify the concepts for everyone.

"As the document is in English and in text form, it will be more effective if the concepts are detailed in the form of graphics or flowcharts. This can be done by CRP or by respective states in their native languages," he suggested.

In the case of Tamil Nadu, the State Policy for Child Rights released in 2021, which expired in 2024, calls for review. The activist insisted, "As the policy was active only till 2024, a review meeting only under the Chief Secretary must be called upon with different nodal departments from education, health, police, and social welfare, among others, to make necessary additions and corrections in the policy and budget allocation for children."

Though the TN policy speaks on the legal rights of children, more needs to be looked at with the handbook released by the SC, claim TN stakeholders.

Explaining further, Vanessa Peter, a policy researcher at the Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), said, "The State Policy for Children sets the right direction, but without a concrete action plan, coordination among departments remains weak. Many children still struggle to obtain basic documents like birth and community certificates, which in turn deny them access to essential services."

"Even well-intentioned frameworks such as the Tamil Nadu Rehabilitation Policy for Children in Street Situations face similar implementation gaps. Unless a comprehensive plan of action is put in place, these challenges will continue to persist," she detailed.