Karnataka HC issues guidelines, parents surrender children under section 35 of Juvenile Justice Act.
Last Updated on August 20, 2021 by Administrator
By- Neha Virmani
The division bench comprising of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas and Justice NS Sanjay Gowda of Karnataka High Court on Thursday while hearing a case regarding the section 35 of JJ Act,2015.
In the following case initially a PIL petition was filed by NGO named Letzkit Fpundation, where they highlighted that there is a couple probably in their twenties having a live-in-relationship has abandoned their two-weeks old child and had declined to take care of the baby. Further petitioner in their petition asked for the protection of new-born.
During the first camera preceding the bench along with Additional government adv. Vijayakumar A Patil & Amnicus Curie Adv. BV Vidyulatha tries to convice the couple but in vain.
Now, when the matter was taken up for hearing, the bench laid down guidelines for CWCs under section 35 of JJ Act, 2015 which talks about “conducting Inquiry and Counseling by CWCs). In the guideline laid down by Karnataka HC :
It is mandatory for CWCs to conduct Proper Identification of parents.
Inquiry shall be done on the following parameters: Social, emotional and physical factors. Although it is not a straightjacket formula.
CWCs should ascertain that weather the parents genuinely wanted to surrender the child.
The reason behind propounding these guidelines by High Court is because the State government failed to do so. In Further to that the bench directed the State government to formulate rules under Section 35 of JJ Act, within the period of 3 months.
The next hearing is scheduled for September 28, 2021.
