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    CHILDREN

    1. Financial Security Of Children
    2. Child In Need Of Care And Protection
    3. Cruelty To Juvenile Or Child
    4. Juvenile In Conflict With Law
    5. Orders That May Be Passed Regarding Juveniles
    6. Prohibition Of Employment Of Children In Dangerous Trades/occupation
    7. Prohibition Of Children Below 14 Years In Factories
    8. The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929

    Financial Security Of Children

    If any person having sufficient means neglects or refuses to maintain his legitimate or illegitimate minor child, whether married or not and unable to maintain itself, or his legitimate or illegitimate child (not being a married daughter) who has attained majority and where such child is, by reason of any physical or mental abnormality, or injury, unable to maintain itself, a Magistrate of the first class may, upon proof of such neglect or refusal, order such person to make allowance for the maintenance of such child, at such monthly rate as such Magistrate thinks fit. Any person disobeying such order is liable to imprisonment, which may extend to one month for every default in payment of monthly maintenance. An application for maintenance of such child can be filed by any person having lawful custody of such child.

    Such an application for maintenance can be filed not only by children born to persons who are Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs or Jainas by caste but also by the children born to Muslims as so held in the case titled Mst. Noorsuba vs. Md. Kasim reported in AIR 1997 SC 3280.

    Child In Need Of Care And Protection

    With the enforcement of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 with effect from 1.4.2002 any child i.e. a person who has not completed 18th year of age: –

    • who is found without any home or settled place of abode and without any ostensible means of subsistence
    • who resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or not) and such person
    • who is mentally or physically challenged, or ill children, or children suffering from terminal diseases or incurable diseases having no one to support or look after
    • who has a parent or guardian and such parent or guardian is unfit or incapacitated to exercise control over the child
    • who does not have parent and no one is willing to take care of, or whose parents have abandoned him, or who is missing and run away child and whose parents cannot be found after reasonable inquiry
    • who is being, or is likely to be grossly abused, tortured or exploited for the purpose of sexual abuse or illegal acts
    • who is found vulnerable and is likely to be inducted into drug abuse or trafficking
    • who is found or is likely to be abused for unconscionable gains
    • who is victim of any armed conflict, civil commotion or natural calamity

    treated to be a Child in Need of Care and Protection and such child can either himself on his own appear before Child Welfare Committees constituted for every district or group of districts by the state government or he can be produced before such committee by:-

    • Any police officer or special juvenile police unit or a designated police officer
    • Any public servant
    • Childline, a registered voluntary organization, or by such other voluntary organization or an agency as may be recognized by the State Government
    • Any social worker or a public spirited citizen authorized

    Such children shall be kept in Children’s Homes during the pendency of any enquiry and subsequently for their care, treatment, education, training, development and rehabilitation. Such shelter homes are to function as drop-in- Centers for children in need of urgent support but it shall be the prime objective of such Children’s Homes/Shelter homes to take such steps as are considered necessary for the restoration of and protection to a child deprived of his family environment temporarily or permanently. Such restoration may be to the parents/adopted parents or foster parents of such children.

    In case of children who are orphaned or where it is not possible to restore the child to his family, he can be given in adoption by Juvenile Justice Board in accordance with the guidelines issued by the State Government in this regard but no child shall be offered for adoption: –

    • until two members of the Committee declare the child legally free for placement in the case of abandoned children.
    • till the two months period for reconsideration by the parent is over in the case of surrendered children, and
    • without his consent in the case of a child who can understand and express his consent.