February 15,2018:

SC has expounded that,"India’s status as a technological powerhouse in the world would remain on paper if the state doesn't take advantage of its resources to benefit the children or track the missing ones".

Supreme Court has stated that,"The data regarding children could be easily collected by using computers & the internet."

Apex Court while stressing on need for use of the technology in the Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) & Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) added that it was “disheartened” that there was an acute shortage of the computers & peripherals in these bodies.

SC Bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur & Justice Deepak Gupta expounded that use of the technology would help in dealing with the crucial issues like tracing & tracking of the missing children, rescuing those working in hazardous industries & victims of child sexual abuse.

SC Bench stated that,“It's well-known that our country is a technological powerhouse & if we're unable to take advantage of the resources available with us & fully utilize the benefits of technology through computers & the internet for the benefit of children, our status as a technological powerhouse would be in jeopardy & would remain only on paper”.

SC said that the data regarding children could be easily collected by using computers & the internet.

“This would be of great assistance in planning & management of resources & MWCD [Ministry of Women and Child Development] & others concerned with child rights must take full advantage of this,” the Bench said.

The top court also said that the Centre & States need to look into this aspect & provide necessary software & hardware to the JJBs & CWCs for their functioning.

“Similarly, the use of video conferencing could also be considered in appropriate cases where some inconvenience to the juvenile in conflict with law necessitates the use of video conferencing facilities,” it said.

The SC complimented the MWCD for bringing out an online central monitoring system in this regard but said it was “unfortunate” that there wasn't much active cooperation of the States in updating the information on this system.

It asked the States to update the information on the online monitoring system “once a quarter”, adding “surely that can't be a difficult task”.

“Needless to say, updating information is extremely important so that there can be efficient planning which will ultimately lead to better management of issues concerning children,” the Bench noted.

It directed the MWCD to continue to make creative use of information & communication technology not only for the purpose of collecting data but also for other issues connected with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.

“With the utilisation of technology to the fullest extent, administrative efficiency will improve considerably, which in turn will have a positive impact on the lives of children,” it said.

The court said this in a judgment in which it passed a slew of directions for implementation of provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.

The verdict came on a PIL seeking implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act and its rules. The petition has raised the issue of alleged apathy by the governments in implementing the welfare measure.

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