Parliament Monday passed Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2010, to prevent separation of children suffering from diseases like leprosy and TB from others in juvenile homes.
The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha earlier this month.
Moving the bill for consideration, in the absence of Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said the amendments were being carried out to remove stigma associated with such children and restore their dignity.
Bansal said the amendments defined children in two categories – one who were in conflict of the law and others who needed care and protection.
The minister said the society was not sensitised towards care and protection of children and lack of data with government agencies had led to a situation where ‘we have not been able to do what we should have done’.
The bill sought the omission and amendment of certain sections of the 2000 Act, which had provisions for ‘removal’ of such children from juvenile homes to treatment centres.
