Sampurna Behrua v. Union of India

Author: Subhadarsini Patra, Jeypore Law College

Case Name – Sampurna Behura v. Union of India

Parties Name –

Petitioner -  Sampurna  Behrua

Respondent  - Union of India

Court  -    Supreme Court

Bench    -    Hon’ble Justice Madan B. Lokur,  Deepak Gupta,  JJ

Date -    9th February, 2018

Children are the future of our country. So it is very important to take care of them. So the  our Indian constitution provided various provision relating to them for their overall development. Article 39 of the Directive Principle Of the State Policy provides about the welfare of the children  against any kind of violation and to live  a  decent life . Article  14 of the Fundamental rights guarantees right to equality to everyone. According to our law everyone is equal.

In the year 2006 the Chief Justice conference governed by the Chief Justice of India passed various reforms regarding the proactive rights of the children. Before the 2000 Act was passed but still after the six years there is no step has been taken to establish a Juvenile Justice Board. In the Chief Justice conference 2009 talked about the Juvenile Justice Board and about the development to establish this.

Further  this matter was raised in the year 2013 about the Juvenile Justice System to make it more stronger. Besides this it is also stressed about to give the complete outcome of the various rules of the 2000 Act and for the protection of the children it is very important to establish Child Welfare Committee  to fulfill the basic requisite for the care of the children. After a long time in the year 2016 in the Chief Judge conference a reform was passed  and this conference discussed about the need to provide an institutional assistance  for those children who need  the care and protection .the judiciary also plays a very vital role for the protection of the children .There is a Juvenile Justice committee in each High Court to discuss about various matters relating to the children.

The petitioner Sampurna Behura was a sociologist and she had handled various matters relating the the children and dealt with matters like child labor ,violation they faced . she had researched about the tights of the children .to worry about relating to various violation against the children under Article 32 she filed a writ petition relating to get focus on the various provisions of the Indian constitution  that guarantee various rights for the children and it is the basic duty of the state not only to look that children get their rights but also to protect those rights.

The default of the state government was  the primary concern of this writ petition that was issued by the petitioner Sampurna Behura. 

The main concern was to execute various acts for the welfare of the children like the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act ,2015 under this act there is a concern to set up Juvenile Justice Board, child welfare committee  and it also aim to build various child care home for their care and protection to provide them the basic rights.

 In this case there are various issues were raised regarding the care and protection of the children .to provide the care and protection of the children it is very essential to set up a child protection society, to establish various committees like child welfare committee and Juvenile Justice board  and to enhance the power of these committees there is also important to fill up the vacant posts. Apart from that it is not enough to establish these institutions it is also very essential to check all the facilities of these institutions and to provide a better condition for living.

• Petitioner expressed that although many years have been gone but still the Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act,2000 .There was no progress in this act. There was a very shocking incident came out in the writ petition  about the child care home regarding the facilities because this is the breach of the Article 21 of the Indian constitution. This Act was received the approval by the parliament by after analyzing various matters granted in the United nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice,1985 and various others. In this the petitioner also gave various suggestions regarding the improvements and also said about there is a need to enhance the facilities of the child care home .

• The  respondent mentioned that there was a lot of progress to update the various details in the online mode in the Ministry of Development of Women and Children so that to prepare a central level monitoring format in every state and union territories to fulfill all the data in an easy way.

Additional Solicitor General said that to make the monitoring process in a better way the support of the union territories and state government was needed .

The honorable Supreme Court held that for the protection of the children it is very necessary to execute the Juvenile Justice Act in a proper way. The court also provided  various guidelines to improve the facilities for the children to provide them a better life like the State Commission for the protection of children’s rights and the Central Commission for the protection of children’s rights. In addition to that it is also very essential to conduct a session in every day of the Child welfare committee and the Juvenile Justice Board to grant justice to the juveniles .The Apex court viewed that it is the important the union territories and the State Government to prepare in a way to open children care institutions  so that they can get a better standard of living and it is also important to provide them a better Health care and the educational facilities.

In this case the honorable court focused that it is the statutory duty of the state to provide protection and care to the children .It is also mentioned under Article 21 of the constitution and under the Directive Principle of the State Policy. But there is a breach of all these rights that specifically provided for the children and the reason behind this is the improper execution of the Juvenile Justice Act. The court viewed that until the proper functioning of the various committees like the Child Welfare Committee ,the Juvenile Justice Board and various child care home it is not possible the care and  protection of the children.

The Article of the Indian constitution provides the right to live a quality life and in addition to that The Juvenile Justice Act guarantees various provisions relating to the care and protection of the children.

The court pointed out that in the preamble of the National Policy For the Welfare of Children which expressed that children are the essential wealth of our nation.it is our duty to take care of them. But in present scenario there are various institutions like child care home are established for their protection but they are not able to get the facilities and therefore it shows that there is a breach of the Juvenile Justice Act. So for that reason the honorable  court  aimed that to conduct the supervision regarding the execution the Juvenile Justice Act in every six months.

There are  various effects in this case-

      The judgement works as a promotion to bring a reform and with the purpose to set up the Juvenile Justice system that responsible work for the children. It also inspires to open various committees for children and to provide them justice on time without delay.

For the protection and care of the children it is not only important to establish  the child care home and other committees but it is  also equally  essential to look at the effective implementation of this  . The main aim of the Juvenile Justice Board is to bring reform in them and to provide them various facilities that they actually need like education.

Children are the future assets of our country .our Indian constitution guarantees various rights for them. So it is the responsibility of the state to take care of their rights and to look that they enjoy their rights. Our law also gives various provisions for the juveniles. There are various institutions like Juvenile Justice Board ,Child Welfare Committees play a very important role to the protection and care of the children.

References

• Sampurna Behrua v Union of India on 9 February .2018-case summary LAWFYI.IO. Available at: https://lawfyi.io.

  
  

• Sampurna Behrua v. UOI & Ors (2018)- Implementation of JJ Act LAWYERSCLUBINDIA. Available at: https://www.lawyersclubindia.com.

  
  

• Kumar, A. (no date b) Sampurna Behrua v.Union of India, LawTimesJournal. Sakshi Raje. Available at: https://lawtimesjournal.in.

  
  

• Sampurna Behrua v. Union of India : Enhancing the Framework for Juvenile Justice and Child Rights Implementation CASEMINE. Available at: https://www.casemine.com.