Chandigarh: Justice NS Shekhawat, chairman of the Punjab and Haryana high court’s Justice Juvenile Monitoring Committee, called for assessing the juvenile justice system by its outcomes for children rather than numbers and procedures.Addressing a state-level stakeholders’ consultation on “10 Years of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015” at the Chandigarh Judicial Academy on Saturday, Justice Shekhawat said juvenile justice required coordination among various institutions and departments.“Ten years provide us with an important opportunity to look back at what we have achieved, but also to honestly recognise where we still need to improve,” he said.Referring to Juvenile Justice Boards, Child Welfare Committees, Child Courts and District Child Protection Units, he said their existence was only the beginning.“The real measure of our system lies in what happens when a child actually comes into contact with it. Does the child feel heard? Does the child feel safe? Does the child understand what is happening? Does the process protect the child from further trauma? And, most importantly, does our intervention give that child a genuine opportunity to rebuild his or her life?” he said.Justice Shekhawat called for stronger family-based care, community support and rehabilitation, with alternatives to institutionalisation where possible. He also stressed monitoring and accountability of institutions and listening to children.The consultation covered adoption and permanency, preliminary assessment, children in need of care and protection, children in conflict with law, and a decade-long review of the Juvenile Justice Act.Justice Rohit Kapoor of the high court, Chandigarh Judicial Academy director Harleen A Sharma and faculty member Monika Lamba were among those present.
