The media has a very sensitive role to play when it comes to protecting the identity of children who fall in the category of protection or are in conflict with the law
The Juvenile Justice system is a legal framework that specifically deals with the rights of juveniles and their care and protection. The system focuses primarily on the reformation and rehabilitation approach of the Children. The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, is a key legislation of this system. The legislation emphasises proper care, protection, development, treatment and social re-integration of children in difficult circumstances by adopting a child-friendly approach keeping in view the best interests of the child in mind.
The Act has a long history of evolution. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a convention on the rights of Children on 20th November 1989. Subsequently, India came up with a new Act called “The Juvenile Justice [Care and Protection] Act, 2000, repealing the erstwhile Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act, 1986. This Act was later amended twice- first in the year 2006 and again in 2011. The amendments were made to address the gaps in its implementation and make the law more child-friendly.
Finally, The Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act, 2015 replaced the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 because of the need for strong child protection legislation that focused on the best interests of the children in need of care and protection and the children in conflict with the law. The Act defines the “Juvenile” as any person below 18 years of age thus providing child child-friendly environment to the children.
Since then JJ Act, 2015 has been a major legal text on child protection in India. It guarantees the security, protection and well-being of children in India but there are some grave mistakes made by media outlets when it comes to the news coverage of vulnerable children or those juveniles involved in sensitive cases. The Act lays out the guidelines that no stigma should be attached to a Juvenile who is found to be in conflict with the law or is in need of a protective umbrella under the Act.
The media has a very sensitive role to play when it comes to protecting the identity of children who fall in the category of protection or are in conflict with the law. Section 74 of the JJ Act, 2015 plainly prohibits the disclosure of the identity of a child in any form of media. It says that “no report in any newspaper, magazine, news-sheet or audiovisual or other forms of communication regarding any inquiry or investigation or judicial procedure, shall disclose the name, address or school or any other particular, which may lead to the identification of the child in conflict with the law or a child in need of care and protection or a child victim or witness of a crime. The violation of the provision can lead to imprisonment of up to six months or a fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or both.
Therefore, it becomes very important for media outlets, print and electronic to exercise stern restraint in the identification of juveniles in their news reports because such revelations and disclosures not only go against the journalistic ethics but also violate the important legal provisions of the Act.
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