Ganderbal, June 6: The Pro Bono Club, School of Legal Studies (SLS), Central University of Kashmir (CUK), in collaboration with the Centre for Child and the Law (CCL) at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) and MAANASA, Bengaluru, organised an orientation and skill development workshop on “Child Rights with Special Focus on Juvenile Justice,” here.
In his address, Prof. Farooq Ahmad Mir, Dean, SLS, emphasised the importance of child rights as enshrined in the Indian Constitution, with a special focus on the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and the necessity of legal awareness.
In his special address, Justice Vineet Kothari, former Acting Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, shared his extensive experience and stressed the need for a supportive environment for the rehabilitation of children.
In the first session, Amaidhi Devaraj, Project Director, CCL-NLSIU, discussed her team’s work on child rights in Karnataka. Dr. Kalpana Purushottam, JJB Member, Bengaluru Urban, and Founder of MAANASA, highlighted the contributions of MAANASA with a short video.
Sharief Bhat, Program Head J&K, Save the Children, highlighted the NGO’s contributions in J&K and Ladakh and discussed the need for training programs and collaboration between government agencies for the enforcement of child rights. Dr. Rouf Malik, Director of Koushish (NGO), addressed the challenges in the juvenile justice system and related issues, suggesting measures to address them.
In the second session, Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi, CJM, District Court, Ganderbal, spoke about the practical challenges within the juvenile justice system. Nighat Ashraf, Assistant Public Prosecutor, ASMM Court, Ganderbal, discussed various provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, and the role of the judiciary and police in promoting and protecting child rights. Shubana Hamid, Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, Ganderbal, explained the role and functioning of the Child Welfare Committee. Lastly, Sameena Anjum, Legal Probationer Officer, Ganderbal, focused on the role and challenges faced by legal probationer officers and highlighted a video on a child marriage case and proactive measures to prevent it.
The inaugural session was moderated by Dr. Hilal Ahmed Najar, Sr Assistant Professor who introduced the guests and highlighted the contributions of the department towards the promotion and protection of child rights. Kinjal Bagdi, Assistant Prof proposed the vote of thanks.
Meanwhile, also under the Pro Bono club, the Department celebrated World Environment Day and conducted a legal awareness programme in the Girls Higher Secondary School Kangan wherein the Law students informed the participants about the environmental laws like Water Pollution Act, Air Pollution Act, sustainable development, global warming, ozone depletion, etc.
The session helped students to gain insights about the subject. The event was organised under the guidance of Dr. Imran Ahad, Assistant Prof and Ashfaq, Teaching Assistant also played a role in its conduct.