Parents who practice the dictum, 'spare the rod and spoil the child', had better watch out. The government is planning a legislation that will make meting out corporal punishment to a child an offence not just for educational institutions and care givers, but also for parents, relatives, neighbours and friends. In other words, just like in the US, children in India will be able to take parents or relatives to...

In an effort to curb discrimination against minors suffering from communicable diseases, Government is all set to amend an act providing for the care and protection of children. The draft bill to amend the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act, seeks to prohibit authorities from sending minor children to mental asylums, and separate treatment for those suffering from diseases such as leprosy and TB. According to the amendments,...

We urgently need legislation that specifically addresses child abuse.  The Indian Penal Code does not spell out the definition of child abuse as a specific offence Even the Juvenile Justice Act does not specifically address the issue of child sexual abuse The government's decision to introduce a set of guidelines for service providers in the tourism sector in a move to prevent a repeat of incidents like the rape of a Russian...

With 35 deaths reported in 2009 at the Asha Kiran home for the mentally challenged, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) submitted a report in the High Court citing deplorable medical attention, poor administration, lack of adequate staff and unhygienic conditions as reasons for the deaths. Placing the report before a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice A P Shah on Wednesday as a PIL on the...

The Supreme Court today directed all state governments to set up juvenile boards, child welfare committees and juvenile police units within six weeks. A bench, headed by Justice Dalveer Bhandari, passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation that sought the court’s intervention to deal with child trafficking, which is rampant in the areas bordering Nepal and Bangladesh. The People’s Union for Civil Liberties, the petitioner, said that juvenile welfare committees...