Govt urged to withdraw controversial notification

PANJIM: Members of civil society, NGOs and civil society organisations have appealed to the government to withdraw a notification which allows Apna Ghar to call police, who can use ‘minimum’ amount of physical force to prevent children from inflicting self-harm, attacking and endangering life and safety of other inmates and officials.

The government has been instead asked to draw up a plan to ensure that Apna Ghar becomes a child friendly home. The community has drawn attention to the dire need to find out the root cause for the outbreaks of violence and the frequent incidents of children escaping from the home, in order for the situation to ‘come under control’. 
The Department of Women and Child Development had issued the notification dated 26/5/2014 granting permission to Apna Ghar staff to request the police to intervene in “emergency situations” and use minimum force to bring under control violent children.  
The government has been accused of violating the fundamental principles enshrined in the model rules of the Juvenile Justice Act, which emphasizes rehabilitative and restorative objectives and affirms that a juvenile or child in conflict with law cannot be subjected to any harm, abuse, neglect, mal-treatment, corporal punishment.  
The government has been urged to implement the recommendations of the Levinson Martins report, which is aimed at improving the functioning of the Ghar.   

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