
Kohima, July 24 (MExN): The Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Act 2015 mandates setting up Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in every district. This was pointed out by Joshua Sheqi, retainer lawyer, while giving an overview of the new juvenile justice act during the Kohima District Legal Services Authority (KDLSA) visit to Observation Home, Kohima, as part of the action plan for July 2016. During the visit, the KDLSA interacted with the officials and juveniles, a press release received here stated.
Sheqi informed that the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Act 2015 has been passed by the parliament of India and came into force in January 2016. The bill allows the Juvenile Justice Board, which will include psychologists and sociologists, to decide whether a juvenile criminal in the age group 16-18 should be tried as an adult or not, Joshua pointed out. It also mandates setting up Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee in every district. Each committee will have a chairperson and four other members, all specialists in matters relating to children. The proposal aims at adjudicating and disposing cases dealing with juveniles keeping in mind “the best interest of the children and their rehabilitation,” it was added, according to the press release.
Mezivolu T. Therieh, Chief Judicial Magistrate & Secretary KDLSA, spoke about providing help and services to the people without any barriers, be it church organizations, NGOs and even juveniles. She said that legal services have been provided to women and children free of charge. She encouraged the juvenile saying they still have hope and a chance to be a better person as children below the years of 18 can be corrected and restored because their brain have not been fully developed yet. However, she said unless they have the will power and decide to change, they cannot become a better person.
Meanwhile, Esther Nakhro, Superintendent of the Observation Home acknowledged that the KDLSA has always been there whenever they needed any help. She shared about some Do’s and Don’ts and also said that running the Observation Home is a big challenge as most of the juveniles brought to the home have history of broken homes and substance abuse. She proposed that they also need the help of KDLSA to sensitize the officials of the various homes in Kohima so that work can be done more effectively.
The program ended with interaction with the management.