Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 19: Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh today inaugurated one-day annual stakeholders’ consultation on children in conflict with law here at Tagore Hall in presence of Justice Tashi Rabstan, Justice Sindhu Sharma, Justice Puneet Gupta, Justice Javed Iqbal Wani, Justice Mohd Akram Chowdhary and Justice Rajesh Sekhri.
The Consultation Meet was organized by the Juvenile Justice Committee, High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh under the aegis of Child Welfare Committee, Supreme Court of India in association with J&K Social Welfare Department and Social and Tribal Welfare Department, Ladakh.
The Chief Justice in his inaugural address while stressing upon the theme of this year’s meet traced the history of law relating to Child Rights and said that earlier the focus was on the victim of the offence and now there is paradigm shift towards the welfare of Child in Conflict with Law. The Chief Justice underlined that collaboration of stakeholders is needed to restore such children back into the system.
Highlighting the circumstances leading the child onto the wrong side of law Justice Tashi in his special address appealed to one and all to prioritize prevention over punishment. He called upon the stakeholders to extend empathy and unwavering commitment towards the wellbeing of children in conflict with law.
The consultation unfolded across a series of meticulously curated technical sessions that illuminated the multifaceted aspects of child protection. In the first technical session, Sonali Kumari, Assistant Director, NIPCCD, Regional Centre, Mohali was the resource person, who deliberated upon the topic “Prevention and Early Intervention”.
In her Powerpoint presentation, she delved into detailed strategies that could pre-empt adversities, emphasizing the pivotal role of proactive measures. She was also the resource person for the fourth technical session in which continuing her presentation she explained in detail the rehabilitation mechanisms and the potential of restorative practices in rebuilding young lives.
The 2nd and 3rd technical sessions were on the topics “Diversion, Alternatives to Detention, and Non-custodial Alternatives” and “Right to Fair Trial and Child-Friendly Procedures” in which resource persons were Justice (Retired) BA Kirmani and Justice (Retired) MH Attar. Justice MH Attar underscored the significance of child-friendly legal processes and a just trial system in nurturing a sense of justice in young minds.
In the last technical session, the resource person, Owais Wani, Deputy SP (HQ), Srinagar deliberated upon the topic “Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility and Age of Criminal Majority (Preliminary Assessment)”.
In his welcome address, Amit Kumar Gupta, Member Secretary, Juvenile Justice Committee gave an overview of the programme. On the occasion, vote of thanks was proposed by Harvinder Kour, Mission Director, Mission Vatsalya, J&K.
The inaugural session was physically attended by DC Raina, Advocate General, Shahzad Azeem, Registrar General, MK Sharma, Principal Secretary to Chief Justice, Registry Officers and Officers from Civil and Police Administration. Besides this, Sheetal Nanda, Commissioner Secretary, Social Welfare Department, UT of J&K, Padma Angmo, Commissioner Secretary, Social and Tribal Welfare Department, UT of Ladakh, Spalzes Angmo, Member Secretary, Ladakh Legal Services Authority joined the consultation virtually.
The participants in the consultation were Secretaries DLSA, Principal Magistrates JJB’s, Officers from Health, Education and Police Departments, Members of JJBs, Chairperson and Members CWC’s, Superintendent Observation Homes, District Social Welfare Officers, Counsellors, Representatives of UNICEF, Heads of Law department of various Universities and PLVs.
The proceedings were conducted by Jahangir Bakshi, Secretary, DLSA Srinagar.
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