PATNA: Supreme Court judge Justice Altamas Kabir, on Saturday, stressed the need to protect the rights of children and prepare them to shoulder the responsibility of the society in future.
Justice Kabir said children are 40% of the country's population. They would shoulder the national responsibilities in different spheres of life. So, their all round development with proper education is necessary. For this, the role of judiciary, civil society and media is important, he said.
Inaugurating a two-day national seminar on 'Child Rights and the Law', Justice Kabir said a child in conflict with the law should be groomed as a responsible citizen in spite of the heinous crime he had committed. For this, the provisions of Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, have to be implemented methodically, he said, adding that protection and rehabilitation of child labour is necessary. He said the Supreme Court has ruled for giving compensation to the parents of the children rescued as child labourers, for their rehabilitation.
The national seminar is being jointly organized by the Chanakya National Law University (CNLU) and UNICEF which has documented the status and the ways of implementing child rights related legislations in Bihar.
Justice Kabir said the National Legal Services Authority (NLSA) has taken up the issue of child widows living at Vrindavan, Mathura, Varanasi and other places.
Presiding over the inaugural session, Patna high court Chief Justice Rekha M Doshit said even birds and animals take care of their progenies till they are fully grown up, but humans falter because they are busy for money. For this reason, the laws had to be enacted to protect children and let them grow as responsible citizens, she said.
She stressed on taking care of the children's emotional needs which they miss sometimes either due to strained relation between parents or nuclear families, depriving them of the soothing affection of their grandparents. "Allow children to choose and pursue their career," she said, adding that the NGOs and voluntary organizations have to work for taking care of the children's emotional intelligence.
Bihar education minister P K Sahi stressed on formulating strategies for implementing child rights laws and ensuring every child's right to education.
The CNLU vice-chancellor, Prof A Lakshminath, emphasized the importance of understanding child's rights and the Indian laws to protect a child.
UNICEF state chief, Y Mazumdar, stressed on responding to the children's needs and evolving a robust mechanism for implementation of child rights laws and the Juvenile Justice Act.
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