SC judge wants continued support for kids hit by Covid

One-liner: Apex court judge and chairperson of the Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Committee S Ravindra Bhat has given a call for the continued support of children affected by Covid and to put in place measures to mitigate such impact in future.

Review meeting: He made these remarks during a review meeting held by the Committee for the protection of children and to take stock of the implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act and the Prevention of Sexual Offences Act.

• The meeting, held on Dec 18, focused on the care and protection of children, especially those who were orphaned, abandoned, or whose families cannot support them as well as restoration of children in conflict with the law
• He urged the states to provide child-friendly, gender-responsive, and context-appropriate justice and social services, in a manner that is responsive to the individual child's needs, background, situations, and level of maturity

Sponsorship:  He pressed for strengthening of sponsorship and referral to prevent family separation as a result of socio-economic conditions, and specialisation of the child protection system under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

• He gave an overview of the schemes of central govt along with the PM CARES for Children Scheme, which has been implemented for the support of pandemic-affected children