Punjab State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights on Thursday issued a letter to the concerned person to implement section 74 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 in letter and spirit.
The Commission expressed shocked over the “oversight” of a few police officers from higher echelons of district getting pictures of themselves with child victim published or run in various vernacular or English print and electronic or live media wherein identity and other particulars of child victims are also disclosed which may entail real risk of children facing harm, stigma, retribution etc which is a “blatant contravention” of Section 74.
The instructions asked all the concerned to be aware about Section 74 which seeks to protect the identity of victim child and for its scrupulous or meticulous implementation or compliance by subordinate police officers so that no such news item appear in either of media from now onwards.
The Commission has also asked the higher ups in the Police Department to issue instructions to their subordinate police officers immediately to comply with the section.
Section 74 of the Juvenile’s Act prohibits disclosure of identity of children, which also entails imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or fine which may extend to Rs two lakh rupees or both.