Children With Disabilities Should Not Be Treated With Embarrassment Or Stigma: Jharkhand High Court Acting CJ Sujit Narayan Prasad

Jharkhand High Court's Acting Chief Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad on Saturday called for a shift in societal perceptions, urging that children with disabilities should not be treated with any sense of embarrassment or as being differently-abled.

He stressed upon the importance of providing them with opportunities and protecting their rights, ensuring their full participation in society without any stigma.

Speaking as the Chief Guest at the Jharkhand State Level Stakeholders' Consultation on the Protection of Children with Disabilities, held on August 17, the Judge said,

"It is interpreted an Encyclopedia that how the disabled persons acknowledged under the statutory command to be a disabled person in the society how they be given the opportunity, how their rights would be protected and how they be given full participation in the society without the feeling of any rigour, embarrassment that they are being treated as a differently-abled persons."

The event was organised by High Court's Juvenile Justice-cum-POCSO Committee, in association with the State's Department of Women & Child Development, UNICEF and Jharkhand Judicial Academy. It aimed to foster an in-depth understanding of the challenges faced by children with disabilities (CwD) and to explore ways to ensure their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

In his address, the Acting Chief Justice highlighted the statutory obligations towards disabled persons, emphasising the need for societal change in attitudes and mindsets. He pointed out that these children, who have long-term physical, mental, and sensory impairments, often face significant barriers that hinder their participation in society.

The ACJ emphasised the sacred responsibility of protecting the rights of children with disabilities, especially those within the Juvenile Justice (JJ) system. he underscored the need for unwavering dedication to this cause, describing their protection as a "sacred trust."

The seminar, he explained, was organised to assess whether the objectives of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and statutory provisions have been met, and to identify challenges that remain in ensuring that children with disabilities are treated with dignity and given equal opportunities. ACJ said the seminar was an essential step in evaluating the progress made so far and in determining the path forward to achieve greater inclusion and protection for children with disabilities.

The key objectives of the consultation were to enhance understanding of the situation of Children with Disabilities (CwD) and their rights, entitlements, and accessible services under the RPWD Act 2016, JJ Act, and POCSO Act and to share progress, identify gaps, and discuss solutions to strengthen the protection of vulnerable children, including those in need of care and protection, children in conflict with the law, and victims of sexual violence. Additionally, the consultation provides a platform for stakeholders to review and share progress in improving services for children under the JJ Act and POCSO Act, building on the outcomes of previous state consultations.

Guests and Participants of the Programme

The consultation was graced by the esteemed presence of the Chief Guest, Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad, the Acting Chief Justice and Chairperson JJ cum POCSO Committee, High Court of Jharkhand, Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay, Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary, Justice Anubha Rawat Choudhary, other Judges of High Court of Jharkhand.The event also witnessed the presence of Mr. L. Khiangte, Chief Secretary, GoJ, Mr. Manoj Kumar, Secretary, DWCD&SS; Ms. Parul Sharma, UNICEF; Divisional Commissioners, Officers from Department of Health, Education and district functionaries.

Inaugural Session

The Consultation was attended by over 400 participants, including DLSA Secretaries, Principal Magistrates, JJB, Special Juvenile Police Units, Civil Surgeons, District Social Welfare Officers, District Child Protection Officers, Chairpersons, Child Welfare Committee, Members, Juvenile Justice Board, Officers in charge of Mahila Thana, Legal –cum-Probation Officers, State Program Managers, JSLPS, C.I.P. and RINPAS, Superintendent, Observation Home, NGOs working for disabled children, members of UNICEF.Law students of NUSRL and Chhotanagpur Law College, Ranchi were present as volunteers.

The Consultation was organised under the aegis of Juvenile Justice Committee, Supreme Court of India. It commenced with a welcome song by Children with Special Needs.

Mr. Manoj Kumar, Secretary, DWCD&SS gave a welcome address and emphasised on the status of children with disability within JJ system, convergence with education and health and shared Department's commitment for improving specialised services and capacities of DWCD&SS.

Ms. Parul Sharma, UNICEF, Jharkhand talked about UNICEF's Disability Inclusion Strategy and Policy 2022-2030 and commitment to support the government on inclusive development.

Mr. L Khiangte, Chief Secretary, GoJ emphasised increasing awareness among children with disability on right and entitlements and how to access it and he said that the State is committed to reduce the impediments and barriers for making a more inclusive society. He also mentioned focusing on strengthening community-based programs for children with disabilities.

Department of Education, GoJ introduced 'Jyoti' software and its usage and implications for visually impaired children. The initial software was built by Israel in about 4 lakhs Rupees. However, India has manufactured its own software 'Jyoti' in about 20000 Rs and has also patented the same. The software enables such visually impaired children to identify the surroundings with the help of inbuilt artificial intelligence. This application also works in crowded places. Live demonstration of the software was shown by a visually impaired child, Vijay Lohra.

Thereafter, children with disabilities performed a welcome song. Ms. Tanvee, the Deputy Secretary JJ cum POSCO Committee, facilitated felicitation of academically excellent CwD and children who participated in the program. Children were distributed smartphones, laptops equipped for visually impaired children, Braille documents and student kits.

Two visually impaired children, Ms. Ananya Bhardwaj, class 5 student from Deoghar and Mr. Munib Alam, class 8 student from Hazaribagh shared their life experience before the audience.

Vote of thanks was proposed by Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, JJ cum POCSO Committee, Jharkhand High Court.

Exhibition cum Sale by Children with Disabilities

The magnificent Children's Art Exhibition cum Sale was inaugurated by the Acting Chief Justice, High Court of Jharkhand. Over 150 exhibit items were prepared by Children with Disability. The dignitaries and participants happily purchased these articles and all CwD were facilitated who attended the Programme.

Technical Sessions

The 1st Technical Session was chaired by Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary, Judge and Member, Juvenile Justice -cum- POCSO Committee, High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi. The expert speakers of the first Technical Session were Shri. Praveen Kumar G., Lead Advisor Social Inclusion at VSO who was also visually impaired; Ms. Gopika Anand, Principal, Deepshikha Special School, Ranchi; and Prof. Dr. Nishant Goyal, M.D., Psychiatry, C.I.P., Ranchi.

The 2nd Technical Session was chaired by Justice Rajesh Kumar, Judge, High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi. The experienced speakers of the Second Technical Session were Dr. Amool Ranjan Singh, HoD & Professor of Clinical Psychology, RINPAS; Shri Anurag Gupta, Director General of Police, Jharkhand; Ms. Kumari Ranjana Asthana, Member Secretary, JHALSA and Ms. Rajshree Aparna Kujur, DLSA Secretary, Khunti.

The 3rd Technical Session was chaired by Justice Anubha Rawat Choudhary, Judge and Member, Juvenile Justice -cum- POCSO Committee, High Court of Jharkhand, Ranchi. Shri Aditya Ranjan, S.P.D., Department of Education, Government of Jharkhand and Shri Abhay Nandan Ambastha, Additional Secretary, DWCD & SS –cum- Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Government of Jharkhand shared their thoughts and experience in this session.

Two differently abled speakers graced our session motivating all participants and viewers. Every technical session was followed by an open house discussion and QR code was available for submission of recommendations, suggestions and good practices even after the session. Reference material was provided in soft copies as well as hard copies to all the participants.

The Valedictory Session was the last session of the day in which Ms. Priti Srivastava, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF shared her views and reflected upon the key highlights of the Programme.

The Programme was a huge success for the High Court as well as the State of Jharkhand, which paved the way for execution of ideas and proposals discussed in deliberations by the stakeholders.

E-Carts were available from High Court of Jharkhand for comfortable movement of CwD. The entire Programme was translated by sign language interpreters for the benefit of persons with disability.

The Consultation Programme was live telecasted on YouTube channel “Jharkhand Livecast”.