Section 28 in Bihar Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2015
28. Production of a Child before the Committee.
(1)A child in need of care and protection shall be produced before the Committee within twenty-four hours, excluding journey time, by one of the following persons-(a)any police officer or Special Juvenile Police Unit or a designated police officer;(b)any public servant;(c)Child line, a registered voluntary organization or by such other voluntary organization or an agency as may be recognized by the State Government;(d)social worker;(e)any public spirited citizen; or(f)by the child himself.(2)Whenever the above mentioned person/s takes charge of child in need of care & protection, the information shall be given to the police station or Child line as soon as possible, giving details of child, the situation from which rescued, the time at which the person took charge of the child including the place. The person taking charge of the child shall also give his details like name, address and organization for which he is working and other relevant details of members of rescue team.(3)In case of a child under two years of age, who is medically unfit, the person or the organization shall send a written report along with the photograph of the child to the Committee within twenty-four hours and produce the child before the Committee as soon as the child is medically fit along with a medical certificate to that effect.(4)The Committee can suo motu take cognizance of cases brought to its notice and reach out to a child in need of care and protection where necessary and the District or the State Child Protection Unit or the State Government shall provide necessary support and assistance to the Committee for carrying out such functions.(5)In case the Committee is not sitting, the child may be produced before the single member of the Committee as per the provisions laid down under sub-Section (2) of Section 30 of the Act for being placed in safe custody of parent or guardian or fit person or fit institutions, as the case may be, till such time that the child can be produced before the Committee.(6)In case the single member is also not accessible, or that the hours are odd, the child shall be taken by any non-governmental organisation or Child line or Police to an appropriate institution for children registered under the Act with all the necessary documents, and be placed in such institution till the time of production before the Committee.(7)The concerned institution shall inform the Chairperson or a member of the Committee about such child and produce the child before the Committee within twenty four hours and in such cases, it may not be necessary for the person who brings a child in need of care and protection to an institution to be present at the time of production of the child before the Committee. If the institution is Government Children Home, the child may be produced during the next sitting of the committee.(8)Whoever produces a child before the Committee may submit a report on the circumstances under which the child came to their notice and efforts made by them in informing the police and the missing persons squad and in cases where a recognized voluntary organization or any police personnel produce a child before the Committee, they shall also submit a report on the efforts made by them for tracing the family of the child.(9)Any general medical or gynaecological examination of child shall not be a pre-requisite for production of the child before the Committee or admission in an institution.(10)The Committee shall facilitate the filing of a police complaint and First Information Report in cases of missing children as well as matters of violence, exploitation and abuse of children and arrange for required legal aid through the Legal Officer in the District Child Protection Unit or District or State Legal Aid Services Authority or voluntary organizations.(11)Each Committee shall send monthly and quarterly information about children in need of care and protection received by them to the District and State Child Protection Society/Unit or State Government.(12)Child shall be provided a child-friendly environment during the proceedings of the Committee.(13)The Committee shall have an empanelled list of lawyers, social workers and mental health experts who may assist the Committee in dealing with cases of abused children and who may also interface with the Public Prosecutor or Assistant Public Prosecutor to facilitate legal services to the abused children, when the cases relating to such children are taken up in regular criminal courts. As far as possible, the public prosecutor or Assistant public prosecutor may preferably be a female in case of girl child.(14)Every possible effort shall be made to trace the family with support from the District Child Protection Unit, and assistance of recognized voluntary organizations, Child line or police may also be taken.(15)The Committee shall send the child to the designated place of safety, with age and gender appropriate facilities, pending inquiry and in such eventuality, the State Government shall provide transport or make necessary budgetary allocations for such expenses based on the actual fare.(16)The child may be escorted by the police officer in plain clothes or representative of the voluntary organization or by any other arrangement as considered appropriate by the Committee with support from the District Child Protection Unit and in case of a girl child, a female escort shall accompany the child.(17)A list of all recognized child care institutions along with their capacity and appropriate facilities as prescribed under Section 34 of the Act, a list of all child related resource services and a list of contact details of all Child Welfare Committees across the country shall be provided to the Committee by State Government.(18)The Committee may, while making an order in Form VIII placing a child under the care of a parent, guardian or fit person pending inquiry or at the time of restoration, as the case may be, direct such parent, guardian or fit person to enter into an undertaking in Form IX.(19)Whenever the Committee orders a child to be kept in an institution, it shall forward to the Superintendent of such institution a copy of the order of short term placement pending inquiry, in Form X with particulars of the home and parents or guardian and previous record.(20)Whenever the Committee orders a child to be kept in a fit institution as part of restoration under clause (f) of sub-Section (3) of Section 39 of the Act, it shall forward a copy of its order of restoration in Form XI to the Superintendent of such institution.(21)(a)The Committee should also satisfy that, the child has not been subjected to any harassment either by the Police or by any other person, who takes charge of the child for the purpose of bringing before the Child Welfare Committee.(b)The Committee may release the child to the care of parents/guardian with without surety till such time the final disposition in made.(c)The Committee shall conduct the proceeding in an informal way to ensure that child's interest is of paramount importance.(d)The Committee shall initiate action against any media for publishing any matter relating to the children in need of care and protection, which would affect the interest of the child.(e)The Committee shall enquire the child in need of care and protection and shall record the statements in accordance with the procedure as laid down in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.(f)The Committee shall, if at any stage during the course of the enquiry is satisfied that the attendance of the child is not essential for the purpose of enquiry, dispense with his attendance and proceed with the enquiry in the absence of child.(22)The child shall be placed in an institution closest to where his parents or guardians belong as far as possible, unless the child has been subjected to abuse or exploitation by parents or guardians.
