Paperman Media | Bhubaneswar
A State-Level Stakeholders’ Consultation on “Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015: A Decade of Implementation and the Way Forward” was held in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, bringing together key stakeholders to review ten years of implementation of the landmark legislation and chart a roadmap for the future.
The consultation 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.
Hon’ble Justice Harish Tandon, Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa, Hon’ble Justice Savitri Ratho, Chairperson of the Juvenile Justice Committee, Dr. Mrinalini Darswal, Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Women & Child Development Department, and Mr. Prasanta Dash, Chief of Field Office for Odisha, UNICEF, attended the programme along with senior judicial officers, government officials, police personnel, child rights experts and civil society representatives.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Justice Harish Tandon stressed the importance of prevention, saying that vulnerabilities must be addressed at the grassroots to prevent children from coming into conflict with the law or entering institutional care.
Four thematic panel discussions focused on children in conflict with law, children in need of care and protection, family-based care and adoption, and offences against children. Experts discussed rehabilitation, foster care, sponsorship, adoption, child-friendly justice and legal aid.
The consultation noted that the JJ Act, 2015 has significantly strengthened India’s child protection and juvenile justice framework. Participants called for improved infrastructure, capacity building, stronger institutional mechanisms and greater inter-departmental coordination to address emerging challenges such as cybercrime, online exploitation, trafficking, substance abuse and migration.
Hon’ble Justice M.S. Raman, Judge of the High Court of Orissa and member of the Juvenile Justice Committee, proposed the vote of thanks, appreciating the Chief Justice, dignitaries, participants and stakeholders for their active support in making the consultation a success.
