1.

MAKKALA PANCHAYAT

In 1995, Bhima Sangha1 and The Concerned for Working

Children (CWC) , in collaboration with the Ministry of Rural
Development and Panchayat Raj, Government of Karnataka,
initiated the formation of Makkala Panchayats (children’s
councils) in five Gram Panchayats in Karnataka. The Makkala
Panchayats were created as parallel government bodies to the
Gram Panchayats.
The reasoning behind the establishment of the Makkala
Panchayats was that despite interaction with local
administrative and government bodies, Bhima Sangha felt that
sustained results were lacking and that a permanent structure
enabling close interaction between children and decision-
making bodies was required. This would inform and influence
local governance in a manner to ensure that children have the
space and opportunities to take part in decision-making
processes within their Panchayats. During the process of
creating the Makkala Panchayats, children who were involved
realised that not only organised working children, but also all
children needed a space to communicate their needs and to
advocate on their own behalf. The Makkala Panchayats were
thus set up not only for working children but also for school
children and children with disabilities. Children from the ages
of 6 -18 were considered eligible to vote for candidates aged
between 12-16.

Objectives of the Makkala Panchayat

• To be a platform to help children solve their
problems in the Panchayat.
• To be managed by children, for children.
• To be an integral part of the local government in
the future.
• To help children recognise their own rights and to
realise them.
• To enable children to gain opportunities to solve
their own problems through the local government.
• To provide children appropriate experience to
participate actively in local governance processes
in the future.
• To provide opportunities for all children, including
working children, school children and disabled
children to take part in the Panchayat.
• To prevent children from economic exploitation.
by solving the problems of school children.
• To encourage equality among all children.
• To enable children to participate and gain respect
In society.

Each Makkala Panchayat selects a Makkala Mitra or Children’s

Friend, an adult whom they feel they can trust and whom they
can depend on for support within the Task Force and in the
community. The Makkala Mitra’s role is to take immediate
action in cases where children request help individually or
collectively. Children have, with the help of the Makkala Mitra,
been able to address and solve problems independently of the
Task Force.
Makkala Panchayats have addressed practices detrimental to
children’s health and well-being. They have opposed the
practice of child marriage and highlighted the health hazards of
getting married at a young age. In some instances, they have
directly interfered and prevented a child marriage from taking
place.
 2.Fundamental Rights
1. Right to Equality: Ensures equality before the law, prohibits
discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place
of birth.
2. Right to Freedom: Includes freedom of speech and
expression, assembly, association, movement, residence, and
profession.
3. Right against Exploitation: Prohibits trafficking, forced labor,
and child labor.
4. Right to Freedom of Religion: Guarantees freedom of
conscience and the right to freely profess, practice, and
propagate religion.
5. Cultural and Educational Rights: Protects the rights of
minorities to conserve their culture, language, or script and
provides for educational rights.
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies: Ensures the right to move
the courts for the enforcement of fundamental rights through
writs such as habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition,
and quo warranto.
 3.Fundamental Duties
1. To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and
institutions, the National Flag, and the National Anthem.
2. To cherish and follow the noble ideals that inspired the
national struggle for freedom.
3. To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of
India.
4. To defend the country and render national service when
called upon to do so.
5. To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood
among all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic,
and regional or sectional diversities.
6. To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite
culture.
7. To protect and improve the natural environment including
forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for
living creatures.
8. To develop the scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of
inquiry and reform.
9. To safeguard public property and to abjure violence.
10. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and
collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher
levels of endeavor and achievement.

4.POCSO Act
POCSO Act, 2012 is the abbreviation of Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. If an attempt or commission of
sexual assault/offence/ harassment happens against a child
(male or female) under the age of 18 years, then such cases are
filed under POCSO Act, 2012. This law protects children from
sexual assault, sexual harassment and use of pornographic
material for the purpose of sexual offence against children.
Special courts have been established for the purpose of dealing
with these offences. This Act has been amended on 6th
August’2019 and came into effect from 16th august 2019.
Some of the key points of this Act are:
 It covers all children below the age of 18 years
 It is a gender neutral Act
 Provides child friendly processes for reporting, recording
and trial keeping best interest of child as top priority
  Burden of proof is on the accused in cases of penetrative
sexual assault, aggravated penetrative sexual assault,
sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault
 Makes reporting of child sexual abuse cases mandatory

Where to file a complaint and to whom (process of filing a

complaint regarding the offences)
1. To report the offences
 If any person, including child, has any doubt that such
offence can happen or has the knowledge that such
offence has been committed, can give the information to
the following authorities
 Special Juvenile Police Unit formed in all police stations;
 Local police

 Toll Free No. 1098 or 100

General principles of the POCSO Act

The Act mentions 12 key principles which are to be followed by

Committee, the Police, the Special Courts, NGOs, or any other
professional present during the trial and assisting the child
during the trial, which are-
Right to life and survival: A child must be shielded from
any kind of physical, psychological, mental, and emotional
abuse and neglect
Best interests of the child: The primary consideration
must be the harmonious development of the child
Right to be treated with dignity and compassion: Child
victims should be treated in a caring and sensitive manner
throughout the justice process
Right to be protected from discrimination: The justice
process must be transparent and just; irrespective of the
child’s cultural, religious, linguistic, or social orientation
Right to special preventive measures: It suggests, that
victimized children are more likely to get abused again,
thus, preventive measures and training must be given to
them for self-protection
Right to be informed: The child victim or witness must be
well informed of the legal proceedings
Right to be heard and to express views and
concerns: Every child has the right to be heard in respect
of matters affecting him/her
Right to effective assistance: financial, legal,
counseling, health, social and educational services,
physical and psychological recovery services, and other
services necessary for the child’s healing must be
provided
Right to Privacy: The child’s privacy and identity must be
protected at all stages of the pre-trial and trial process
Right to be protected from hardship during the justice
process: Secondary victimization or hardships for a child
during the justice procedure must be minimized
Right to safety: A child victim must be protected before,
during, and after the justice process
Right to compensation: The child victim may be
awarded compensation for his/her relief and rehabilitation

5.Juvenile Justice Act

This Act came into force on January 15, 2016. The

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,
2015 was enacted to consolidate and amend the law
relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict
with law and children in need of care and protection and
to adhere to the set of standards in the best interest of
children.
OBJECTIVES:

 To provide a framework for the care, protection,

treatment, development and rehabilitation of
children in need of care and protection.
 To protect the rights of children who are in conflict
with the law and ensure that they are treated in a
manner that is consistent with the principles of
justice, dignity, and reformation.
 To promote the rehabilitation and social
reintegration of children who are in conflict with the
law and to prevent them from becoming repeat
offenders.
 To establish specialized institutions and mechanisms
for the care, protection, treatment, and
rehabilitation of children in need of care and
protection or who come in conflict with the law
(Child Welfare Committees and Juvenile Justice)

 “Child” a person who has not completed eighteen

years of age;
  “Children in conflict with law” is defined as a child
who is alleged or found to have committed an
offence and who has not completed eighteen years
of age on the date of commission of such offence;
“Children in need of care and protection” means a child
who meets certain criteria, including being found without
a home or means of subsistence, engaging in illegal labor,
living on the streets or begging, residing with an abusive
guardian, being at risk of drug abuse or trafficking, facing
unconscionable exploitation, suffering from incurable
diseases or disabilities, being a victim of armed conflict or
natural disasters, or being at risk of early marriage.

Juvenile Justice Board

The Act provides for one or more Juvenile Justice Boards
to be constituted in every district for exercising the
powers and discharging its functions relating to children
in conflict with law under this Act. The JJ Board consists
of a judicial magistrate of the first class, having at least 3
years of experience and two social workers of whom at
least one should be a woman.
The Board has the power to exercise territorial
jurisdiction and to deal exclusively with all the
proceedings under this Act, relating to children in conflict
with law.

Child Welfare Committee:

The Act provides for one or more Child Welfare

Committees to be constituted in every district which
consists of One Chairperson and 4 other members of
whom at least 1 should be woman and another, an
expert on the matters concerning children.
The Committee must meet at least twenty days in a
month and observe rules and procedures. A visit to an
existing child care institution is considered a sitting, and a
child in need of care and protection can be produced
before an individual member. In the event of a difference
of opinion, the opinion of the majority will prevail.
Procedure in Relation to Children in Conflict with Law:
A child alleged to be in conflict with law must be placed
under the charge of a special juvenile police unit or
designated child welfare police officer within 24 hours of
apprehending, without any loss of time.
The Board shall hold an inquiry in accordance with the
provisions of the Act when a child alleged to be in
conflict with law is produced before them. The inquiry
must be completed within a period of four months from
the date of first production of the child, unless the period
is extended for a maximum period of two more months.