Supreme Court orders special cell to enforce amended child labour law

The Supreme Court directed the Centre to create a cell monitoring the amended child labour law. The order seeks strict nationwide compliance through state enforcement agencies.

The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to set up a special cell to monitor the implementation of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016, which bars child labour in hazardous industries, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

A bench of Justices SVN Bhatti and NV Anjaria also directed the Ministry of Women and Child Development to issue instructions to enforcement agencies through the chief secretaries of the respective states.

"With a view to preserving the rights of children/adolescents, we direct the second respondent to constitute a special cell, continue to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the Act and also issue direction to the enforcing agencies through the respective chief secretaries of the State, as amended through the Act No.35 of 2016," the bench said.

The 2016 amendment changed the Child Labour Act of 1986 and came into force on September 1, 2016. It imposed a complete ban on child employment and prohibited the employment of children below the age of 14 in all occupations and processes, according to PTI.

The petition, filed in 2009 by NGO Health For Millions, had challenged the constitutional validity of a proviso to Section 3 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. The provision allowed children to be employed in the hazardous process of rolling beedis in workshops as part of family labour and in government-aided or government-funded schools.

The petition also sought directions to the Centre to provide educational facilities and two midday meals to such child workers. Advocates Prashant Bhushan and Pranav Sachdeva appeared for the petitioner.

During the hearing, the Centre's counsel told the bench that the 2016 amendment had substantially addressed the petitioner's grievance and that the petition no longer required consideration, PTI reported.

The court said, "We are of the view that the prayer made in the writ petition does not survive for further consideration, but what remains to be taken note of is giving complete and full effect to the changes introduced by way of amendment Act No. 35 of 2016."

It added, "Keeping in perspective the above brief narrative, we are persuaded not to examine the prayers as made but we take note of the amendment Act No. 35 of 2016 and note that it shall be the responsibility of the respondent(s) to ensure complete and strict compliance with the mandate of the Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, including the amended provisions."

The court, therefore, did not examine the original requests in the petition but directed the authorities to ensure strict implementation of the amended child labour law through a special monitoring cell and state enforcement agencies.