Constitution and Jurisdiction of Child Welfare Committee

Under the provisions of Section 27 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection ofChildren) Act, 2015, every State Government shall by notification in the Official Gazette constitute for every district, one or more Child Welfare Committees for exercising the powers and to discharge the duties conferred on such Committees in relation to children in need of care and protection under this Act and ensure that induction training and sensitization of all members of the committee is provided within two months from the date of notification.

The Committee shall consist of a Chairperson, and four other members as the State Government may think fit to appoint, of whom at least one shall be a woman and another, an expert on the matters concerning children. The District Child Protection Unit shall provide a Secretary and other staff that may be required for secretarial support to the Committee for its effective functioning.

No person shall be appointed as a member of the Committee unless such person has been actively involved in health, education or welfare activities pertaining to children for at least seven years or is a practicing professional with a degree in child psychology or psychiatry or law or social work or sociology or human development.

No person shall be appointed as a member unless he possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed. No person shall be appointed for a period of more than three years as a member of the Committee.

The appointment of any member of the Committee shall be terminated by the State Government after making an inquiry, if

1. He has been found guilty of misuse of power vested on him under this Act;
2. He has been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude and such conviction has not been reversed or he has not been granted full pardon in respect of such offence;
3. He fails to attend the proceedings of the Committee consecutively for three months without any valid reason or he fails to attend less than three-fourths of the sittings in a year.

The District Magistrate shall conduct a quarterly review of the functioning of the Committee. The Committee shall function as a Bench and shall have the powers conferred by the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 on a Metropolitan Magistrate or, as the case may be, a Judicial Magistrate of First Class. The District Magistrate shall be the grievances redressal authority for the Child Welfare Committee and anyone connected with the child, may file a petition before the District Magistrate, who shall consider and pass appropriate orders.