The Supreme Court on Friday directed all state governments to set up child welfare boards and juvenile courts. The court told chief justices of High Courts to take cognisance of the matter on their own and get this directive implemented in a time-bound manner, according to India Legal.
The Bench, led by Justice MB Lokur, was hearing a petition filed by human rights activist Sampurna Behrua urging the court to ask states to ensure effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.
In 2015, the Supreme Court, acting on Behrua’s previous petition, had ordered every state to set up a Juvenile Justice Board by December 31, 2015, and had identified 15 problems that need to be dealt with for the effective implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act. These included the establishment and training of Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees in every district, appointment and training of Probation Offices.
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