News
National Commission for Children soon
A National Commission for Children will soon be set up to
speed up the trial of offences against children or violation
of their rights.
The Commission, to be headed by a person of the status of
a sitting Supreme Court Judge, will have powers to take
cognisance of offences, summon witnesses, search,
investigate and pass orders, directions and writs, an official
press release said.
The National Commission for Children will be on the lines of
the National Human rights Commission. All the states will
have similar set-up and State Governments would be
empowered to specify a Court of Session to be Children's
Court to try the offences.
The Commission will have the power to forward cases to
the Magistrate for proceedings under provisions of the
Criminal Procedure Code and to approach the Supreme
Court for issuing orders, directions and writs.
A draft bill for establishment of the National Commission for
Children has been prepared and it is now under the active
consideration of the Government. It will have a full-fledged
legal and police wing as well with membership of six professionals
from the fields of education, health, social welfare, labour
and judiciary who had made significant contribution to the
cause of children.
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Undertrial Prisoners languishing in Bihar jails
Thousands of undertrial prisoners are languishing in the jails of Bihar state for pretty long time for minor crimes warranting jail term ranging from 15 days to six months. Such prisoners are in jail for five years.
According to a survey in 1999, there are about 42,000 undertrials among the 50,000 prisoners lodged in 81 jails of different categories in the state. A little over 7,000 are prisoners convicted by court. Incidentally, Bihar has the capacity to house only 25,749 prisoners in its jails. One can easily imagine the overcrowding and resultant chaos prevailing in the jails. The overcrowding of jails by undertrials held for petty crimes put a great strain on the resources of the department.
There is a legal provision for compensation to an undertrial kept in jail for five years for a crime which invites a maximum sentence of six months. The state government is blaming the tardy legal process for the growing number of undertrials in its jails. Sometimes jail authorities fail to produce them in court on time due to the lack of police escorts, vehicles and prison rooms in court premises.
There is a judgement of the Supreme Court in this regard. The state govt should withdraw cases against such prisoners who had remained in jail for a period more than the maximum sentence the law provided for the offences they had been charged with.
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Women killed for allegedly practising witchcraft
Patna, Aug 27 - Two women, Jabo Devi and Alpho Devi, were done to death in Vishanpur village
of Bhagalpur district, about 150 km from Patna, for allegedly practising witchcraft, illustrating the
hold that superstition still has on rural residents of Bihar.
Free Legal Aid Committee (FLAC), a Jamshedpur-based non-governmental organisation (NGO)
providing aid to women accused of practising witchcraft, has compiled a book on the practice, listing
several case studies. FLAC has organised several seminars, plays and demonstrations to educate the
people against this superstition.
Full Story...
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The black fever in Bihar
 While the nation’s attention is focused on the caste killings in Jehanabad,
a silent but deadlier killer is striking terror in Bihar. Kala-azar, the ‘black
fever’ which was relegated to the bottom drawer of government priorities, is
back. In 1994, the state accounted for 96 per cent of all cases of kala-azar
reported in the country. image: CSE
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Reaching the last child with polio vaccine
 Backed by a broad spectrum of leaders from
business, governments, UN agencies and
humanitarian groups, United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that the world
could win the race against polio so long as health
workers are able to vaccinate every child.
Touting the Strategic plan 2001-2005 for the final
chapter of global eradication, Mr. Annan declared that the race to reach the last
child with polio vaccine had begun. "Our race to reach the last child is a race
against time," Annan said. "If we do not seize the chance now, the virus will regain
its grip and the opportunity will elude us forever." Full Report (image: UNICEF)
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