The Rajya Sabha has passed the juvenile (care & protection of children) amendment bill. It was previously approved by the lower house in March 2021. The purpose of the bill is to amend the Juvenile Justice Act of 2015.
The amendments include authorizing district magistrates (including additional district magistrates) to issue adoption orders under section 61 of the Juvenile Justice Act to ensure that cases are handled quickly and to strengthen accountability.
The District Magistrates have been given additional authority to ensure its smooth implementation and to coordinate efforts in support of children in distress.
Under the amended provisions of the Act, any Child Care Institution must be registered after considering the District Magistrate’s recommendations.
The criteria for appointing members of the Child Welfare Committee have been revised. There are also disqualification criteria for the same.
It has been decided that offences where the maximum sentence is more than 7 years in prison but no minimum sentence has been prescribed or a minimum sentence of less than 7 years is provided will be treated as serious offences under this Act.