Children are innocent, compassionate and should be kept away from the darker side of the society. The values and nurture, a child gets from his parents and society reflects the future. When these pure souls face violence and torture, they wither like the flowers and a shadow of this violence stays for the whole life on their personality. So, the government brought the laws to secure them from the violence and evil of the society and there is a need on the part of every citizen to abide by these laws strictly to frame the future of the country especially parents. Let’s know about these laws and the parents’ foremost duty and liability.
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
- A minor child, who is subject to domestic violence by his or her parent and any other person, is treated as a child in need of care and protection by the act.
- This is a short piece from that law which defines a “child in need of care and protection as a child who resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or not) and such person—
(a) Has injured, exploited, abused or neglected the child or has violated any other law for the time being in force meant for the protection of child; or
(b) Has threatened to kill, injure, exploit or abuse the child and there is a reasonable likelihood of the threat being carried out; or
(c) has killed, abused, neglected or exploited some other child or children and there is a reasonable likelihood of the child in question being killed, abused, exploited or neglected by that person;”
- If the child was treated with physical violence with the purpose of disciplining or reforming by parent then, that is called corporal punishment and the act has also specified that “corporal punishment means the subjecting of a child by any person to physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming the child”.
- The act also provides for the principle of family responsibility as follows:
The primary responsibility of care, nurture and protection of the child shall be that of the biological family or adoptive or foster parents, as the case may be.
- The act provides for the punishment for cruelty or domestic violence by parent under Section 75 as “Whoever, having the actual charge of, or control over, a child, assaults, abandons, abuses, exposes or willfully neglects the child or causes or procures the child to be assaulted, abandoned, abused, exposed or neglected in a manner likely to cause such child unnecessary mental or physical suffering, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine of one lakh rupees or with both”. Provided also that on account of the aforesaid cruelty, if the child is physically incapacitated or develops a mental illness or is rendered mentally unfit to perform regular tasks or has risk to life or limb, such person shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment, not less than three years but which may be extended up to ten years and shall also be liable to fine of five lakhs rupees.
Provided that in case it is found that such abandonment of the child by the biological parents is due to circumstances beyond their control, it shall be presumed that such abandonment is not willful and the penal provisions of this section shall not apply in such cases.
- If the offence is committed on a child who is disabled, as so certified by a medical practitioner, then, such person shall be liable to twice the penalty provided for such offence.
- If the same offence is also punishable under any other act then, the offender if found guilty shall be liable for punishment under the law which provides for punishment which is greater in degree.
Protection of children From Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012:
- This act covers the sexual offences to which children are subjected. If the child is subjected to sexual assault or harassment by his parent then the offence will be punishable under this act. If any other act also provides for the punishment under the same offence then that punishment will be inflicted which is greater in degree.
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005:
- This act provides for the punishment for the offence of domestic violence with women and also covers the domestic violence by parent upon a woman or a girl child.
- Under Section 3 of the act, domestic violence has been defined as any act, omission or commission or conduct of the respondent which:
(a) Harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being, whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and economic abuse; or
(b) harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any dowry or other property or valuable security; or
(c) Has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or otherwise,
(d) Injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the aggrieved person.
- A woman or a girl child has the right to make an application for obtaining a relief by way of a protection order, an order for monetary relief, a custody order, a residence order, a compensation order or more than one such order under this Act.
So, all these three laws governs the violence against child in India with Indian Penal Code and the court always considers the best interest of the child while hearing any matter of domestic violence.