Supreme Court instructs states to set up child welfare boards, asks HC chief justices to monitor it
The court was hearing a petition that urged it to direct states to ensure that the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, was implemented effectively.
The Supreme Court on Friday directed all state governments to set up child welfare boards and juvenile courts. The court told chief justices of High Courts to take cognisance of the matter on their own and get this directive implemented in a time-bound manner, according to India Legal.
The Bench, led by Justice MB Lokur, was hearing a petition filed by human rights activist Sampurna Behrua urging the court to ask states to ensure effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.
In the matter relating to implementation of Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, #SupremeCourt directed all the states to create child welfare board and Juvenile Courts and Chief Justice of HighCourts take it as suo moto to get this implemented in a time bound manner.
— India Legal (@indialegalmedia) February 9, 2018
In 2015, the Supreme Court, acting on Behrua’s previous petition, had ordered every state to set up a Juvenile Justice Board by December 31, 2015, and had identified 15 problems that need to be dealt with for the effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act. These included the establishment and training of Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees in every district, appointment and training of Probation Offices.
