Juvenile Justice Bill cleared in RS without discussion, says Sena MP

Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday claimed that the Union government passed amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act in the Upper House of Parliament without discussion. The Union governments decision to pass the Juvenile Justice Bill without hearing the views of the opposition is nothing but arrogance.

Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday claimed that the Union government passed amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act in the Upper House of Parliament without discussion. The amendments effected by the bill will be detrimental to children's interest by giving more powers to district magistrates, said Chaturvedi in a statement. “The Union government's decision to pass the Juvenile Justice Bill without hearing the views of the opposition is nothing but arrogance. The amendments in the passed bill are anti-justice and work against the children,'' she said.

The amendments are ''oblivious'' of the challenges faced by juveniles in shelter homes or those who are awaiting adoption, Chaturvedi said.

''It shows how shamelessly the government will focus on the centralization of power,” the Sena leader added.

The bill empowers district magistrates (collectors) rather than courts ''to decide the future of a child, and makes these officials ''the sole and overarching authority to take a call on shelter homes, compliance, adoptions without any need for judicial intervention,'' Chaturvedi claimed.

As opposition parties kept up their protest over the Pegasus spyware row, the Upper House approved amid din the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, on Wednesday.

The bill sought to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 by increasing the role of district magistrates and additional district magistrates on issues concerning child care and adoption.