National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The child rights body has received complaint from an NGO which alleged that the All India Mission was involved in ‘illegally converting children in India’

• Amazon India has informed the national child rights body that it had no information regarding funding to the All India Mission which was involved in “unlawful activities” and would get the same from its office in the United States.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights 

• NCPCR is a statutory body constituted under Section 3 of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act,2005 to protect child rights and other related matters in the country. 
• The Commission is further mandated to monitor the proper and effective implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012; Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
• The commission’s mandate is to ensure that all laws, policies, programs and administrative systems conform to the vision of the rights of the child as enunciated in the Constitution of India as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• It strives to ensure that all laws and policies in the country are in consonance with the rights of children as emphasised by the Indian Constitution as well as with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• A child is defined as any person between the ages of 0 and 18 years.
• The Commission acknowledges the universality and inviolability of child rights.
• It focuses on children that form a part of the most vulnerable sections of society.
• The Commission sees every right of the child as equally important and hence, does not grade the rights according to importance

Power and Jurisdiction

• All the powers of a civil court trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 and, in particular, in respect of the following matters, namely:-
• summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;
• discovery and production of any document;
• receiving evidence on affidavits;
• requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office; and issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents.

The Commission has also the power to forward any case to a Magistrate having jurisdiction to try the same and the Magistrate to whom any such case is forwarded shall proceed to hear the complaint against the accused as if the case has been forwarded to him under section 346 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).

NCPCR Constitution

• The NCPCR has been constituted by the Government as an act of Parliament as mentioned above. Hence, it is a statutory organisation. It consists of the following members
• Chairperson – Person of eminence and who has an exemplary record of work in child welfare.

Six members:

• A minimum of two women members.
• Should have experience in the following fields:
• Education
• Child health, care, welfare or child development
• Juvenile justice or care of neglected or marginalized children or children with disabilities
• Elimination of child labour or children in distress
• Child psychology or sociology
• Laws relating to children