D. R. AZAD, J. 1. We have heard Ms Usha Kiran, learned Additional Government Advocate, Shri Sukhudu Pal Singh, learned counsel for the petitioner, Shri K. K. Roy, Shri Sudeep Kumar Singh and Shri Jagriti Singh, intervenors and Shri K. C. Sinha, learned Assistant Solicitor General for Union of India and have perused the affidavits filed on behalf of the DG. P. ,u. P. , D. I. G Varanasi, District Magistrate, Allahabad, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) officer, Allahabad, Principal Secretaries, Labour, Primary Education, Women and Child Development, UP, Director Handicapped Welfare U. P. , Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt. of India and also the affidavits and application filed by the intervenors and have also perused the reports submitted by the registry and the compliance report and other documents submitted by the Member Secretary, UP Legal Services Authority. LATEST STATUS OF MISSING CHILDREN - DIRECTIONS 2. In an affidavit dated 19. 3. 2009 filed on behalf of the DGP, U. P. Lucknow, it is mentioned that as on 28. 2. 2009, since 2002, 10365 children have been reported missing. In the said period 8615 children have been recovered. However, 1750 children are still required to be traced out, this includes 1293 males and 457 females children. 3. In the year 2008, 843 children were reported missing, out of whom only 158 children were recovered or returned, and thus 685 remained missing. Even in the last period between 1. 1. 2009 and 28. 2. 2009 as many as 562 children are reported to have gone missing out of whom 224 children were recovered/ returned in the same period, i. e. there has been an increment of 338 children relating to that period who are still to be recovered. 4. From the perusal of this data, we find that although a large number of children have been recovered or have returned on their own, but a substantial number of children, i. e. 1750 are still required to be traced out. A closer analysis shows that whereas our previous order dated 30. 1. 2009, notes 1578 missing children on 1. 1. 2009 as per the DGPs previous recent affidavit, this figure has now swollen to 1750. 5. A closer analysis shows that whereas our previous order dated 30. 1. 2009, notes 1578 missing children on 1. 1. 2009 as per the DGPs previous recent affidavit, this figure has now swollen to 1750. 5. We again have to reiterate what we have stated in the last order that in spite of the commitment of the police to trace out the missing children a larger number of children are going missing than are being traced out relating to the same period, resulting in an increment in the number of missing children. It is for this reason that we have been emphasising identifying the root causes of this phenomena as to why this child goes missing and the need to put some effective mechanism into place from preventing the vulnerable child from going away voluntarily or falling in the hands of traffickers or being abducted. 6. To arrive at the root causes, we had directed the police authorities to examine some of the returned/recovered children by the order dated 7. 11. 2008. In pursuance of that order families of 401 returned children were interviewed in the police zones as mentioned in our order dated 30. 1. 2009. The main causes mentioned in the previous affidavit were scoldings by parents (115), harsh treatment by teachers in studies (9), disinterest in studies (61), a small proportion had gone away because of love affairs (19 ). 30 children had been lured away by child traffickers and only 2 children were forcibly abducted, 101 had gone missing for unspecified reasons. 7. As we wanted to have a more detailed age wise and economic level break up of the 115 children who had gone away because of scolding by their parents, and also the detailed causes for the scoldings, and the detailed explanation about the unspecified reasons for which 101 children had gone missing, we had directed the police authorities by the order dated 30. 1. 09 to re-visit the families and to obtain the details sought by the Court. We should record our appreciation of the police officers concerned for getting this exercise conducted efficiently, as carrying out such a socio-legal probe after interviewing the family of a returned/ recovered child is unconventional work for the police officers, but they have discharged it well. 1. 09 to re-visit the families and to obtain the details sought by the Court. We should record our appreciation of the police officers concerned for getting this exercise conducted efficiently, as carrying out such a socio-legal probe after interviewing the family of a returned/ recovered child is unconventional work for the police officers, but they have discharged it well. It has been mentioned in the chart (Annexure 6) to the affidavit, that out of the 115 children who had gone away because of scolding by their parents, 104 fell in the 10-18 age group, 8 in the 5-10 age group, and 3 in the 0-5 age group. 32 of these children were below the poverty line, 68 were above the poverty line, and 15 belonged to affluent homes. It has been clarified that in as many as 44 cases scoldings were due to the child not going for work. In 10 cases the child was not working properly and in a lessor number of cases (3) he had been scolded for committing thefts or for not going to school (1) or failing in class (1) or falling in bad company (2), or for being a loafer (1 ). In 12 cases they were scolded for quarrelling and in 21 cases for not taking interest in studies, and in 13 cases for roaming about with friends, in 5 cases for not getting pocket money, in case as a pressure tactic on the father for a motor cycle, and in one case because a cow was lost due to the childs inattentiveness. 8. The "other unspecified causes" for the 101 children have also been clarified by a tabular annexure, which shows that there was some overlap between the columns on "unspecified reasons" and scoldings by parents as in 32 of these cases the children had gone away after being scolded by their parents for being loafers. In 2 cases for disinterest in studies, and in case for disinterest in work. In 20 cases the children had gone away because they were not interested in studies, in 6 cases, the cause was economic difficulties, in 1 case it was to look for a film role in Mumbai etc. In 5 cases for the children were missing because of love affairs, in 1 case he was abducted by deceit, and in 1 case it was forcible abduction. In 5 cases for the children were missing because of love affairs, in 1 case he was abducted by deceit, and in 1 case it was forcible abduction. In 16 cases mentally challenged children had gone away, and in 12 cases children had lost their way, 1 had died, 1 had drowned, 1 had quarrelled with her husband, 1 child had gone away because of criminal propensities. We are not clear whether these 216 returned children whose homes were revisited in the 8 police zones mainly fell in urban areas or they were also in rural areas. We would like a clarification on this aspect on the next date regarding the numbers of these returned children who were from urban and from rural areas. 9. From a perusal of these responses, it is apparent that difficulties because of failure of studies and economic pressures including pressure by parents of children to earn because of financial difficulties appear to be the main reasons for the child going missing from home and in a lessor number of cases the child goes missing because he has been abducted or lured away by traffickers, or for love affairs (which are restricted to the older age group nearing 18 ). The child being mentally weak or losing his way were also some other causes for the childs disappearance. 10. This again leads us to emphasise that for addressing some of the root causes for a child going missing, the education system needs to be improved, by making it more relevant to the childs present and future needs, child friendly and comprehensible, proper guidance needs to be provided to the weak child, the fundamental right to compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14 years must be enforced, schools and teachers must be made answerable to parents, educational authorities, concerned citizens and civil society groups, and panchayats, economic difficulties of parents of vulnerable children must be addressed, and strict action must be taken against child traffickers or kidnappers. In this context, we think, that partnerships need to be formed amongst police authorities, social welfare departments, NGOs, concerned citizens, Panchayats and the village education committees etc. for preventing children from going away or getting lost, for recovering missing children and working for the economic rehabilitation of the families of the economically weak and vulnerable child, and for improving and monitoring the childs studies. 11. for preventing children from going away or getting lost, for recovering missing children and working for the economic rehabilitation of the families of the economically weak and vulnerable child, and for improving and monitoring the childs studies. 11. However apart from addressing these root causes as above, the directions of this Court to the police to leave no stone upturned for rescuing the last missing child need to be re-emphasized and there can be no cause for complacency as even more intense efforts by the police are needed for recovering the missing children and for preventing the children from going missing, because we note that in each succeeding period the number of children who go missing are less than the number of children who are recovered for that period. On the next date, we would like an up-to-date report from the DGP, U. P. about the children, who have gone missing after 28. 2. 2009 and the children who have been recovered and who were missing after the said date and also from earlier periods. Reaffirmation of earlier directions for pro-active police role and police sensitization 12. As we have also come across a large number of cases where local police officers and sub-inspectors are not following the earlier orders of this Court and government circulars, especially the orders dated 2. 1. 2007 and 12. 2. 2007 and the DGPs circular dated 10. 1. 2007 and other circulars, which have emphasised that the concerned officers of the police stations shall forthwith register reports of missing children. This is issue was to be monitored by the SSP/sp in-charge of the district and SP Railways and the matters were to be strictly investigated and the aid of Radio, Television and Press Media was to be taken for publicising information of the missing child. In the event of failure of the police to register the report, public relation officers (PROs) were required to be posted in the offices of the SSPs, SPs and COs and the officers were required to be more sensitive to the problems of the poor and marginalised. Cells for missing children were also directed to be constituted and progress reports were be sent to the DIGs and IGs Zone, who were to communicate the same to the DGP (Crime ). Cells for missing children were also directed to be constituted and progress reports were be sent to the DIGs and IGs Zone, who were to communicate the same to the DGP (Crime ). We would like a compliance and progress report in the aforesaid matters and assurance that the police officers concerned shall show necessary sensitivity in the matter of missing children as was earlier directed. RESPONSE OF PRINCIPAL SECRETARY LABOUR Inadequate compliance with earlier orders 13. Another counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of Principal Secretary (Labour), U. P. Government, Lucknow dated 18. 3. 2009. We had enquired in our earlier order dated 30. 1. 2009 as to why only 22 out of the 1818 rescued child labourers were produced before the CWCs during the period July to September 2008 and why CWCs have not been constituted in each of the districts, even though powers had been conferred on the District Magistrates by the Government Order dated 10. 6. 2008 authorising them to appoint Magistrates to exercise powers of the CWCs until their constitution. However, this affidavit is silent about the production of any rescued child labourer before the CWCs in this period. We think that an inadequate explanation has been given as to why the child labourers could not be produced before the CWCs by observing that out of 71 CWCs , only 8 CWCs in Kanpur, Lucknow, Lalitpur, Firozabad, Deoria, Azamgarh, Meerut and Ghazipur were functional. It is further mentioned in the said affidavit that Magistrates have been appointed in 57 districts, out of 71 districts and in 14 districts, the Magistrates are still required to be nominated. Section 32 (1) of the J. J. Act provides that the rescued child labourers recovered shall be produced before the CWCs within 24 hours excluding the time of journey. In spite of the aforesaid order of this Court and the provisions under the J. J. Act, we find that the rescued child labourers are not being produced before the CWCs. We regret to note that this shows inadequate concern in dealing with the lot of the rescued child labourers. We are a little alarmed to note that the Labour Department only received knowledge of the Government Order dated 10. 6. 2008 on 16. 1. 2009. We regret to note that this shows inadequate concern in dealing with the lot of the rescued child labourers. We are a little alarmed to note that the Labour Department only received knowledge of the Government Order dated 10. 6. 2008 on 16. 1. 2009. The same position obtained so far as the requirement to produce child labourers before the CMOs is concerned and the Chief Secretarys G. O dated 9. 7. 2008 which requires production of child labourers within 48 hours before the CMO have been conveniently ignored. This also reflects lack of convergence between different authorities to tackle the problem of missing children and other problems relating to the rights of the child. It is for this reason that we had sought to involve the Chief Secretary, U. P. to ensure that the problem of the neglected child was addressed in an integrated manner. 1550 child labourers were identified but we find that only the ages of about 89 child labourers have been ascertained by the C. M. Os during January and February, 2009. This also reflects inadequate compliance of our earlier orders dated 7. 11. 2008, 8. 8. 2008 and 30. 1. 2009 and the Chief Secretarys G. O dated 9. 7. 2008. Inadequate enrolment of child labourers in schools and rehabilitation of child labour families- Labour Secretary and SSA project directors report sought 14. Again so far as the direction to enrol a total of 4158 child labourers in schools were concerned, 1717 children have not been enrolled at the end of December 2008. It is pointed out that at the end of January and February, 2009, 3579 child labourers were available for enrolment. Out of these, 1494 were enrolled in schools during January and February, 2009 but 1753 children still remained to be enrolled. A request letter has also been sent to the State Project Director, SSA on 9. 3. 2009 to this effect. It is also pointed out that as per information of the SSA, 297 children remained for enrolment on 17. 3. 2009. However, we have emphasized in our previous order that enrolment is not sufficient but it should be ensured that all the child labourers are actually attending the schools and have not become irregular or have dropped out. It is also pointed out that as per information of the SSA, 297 children remained for enrolment on 17. 3. 2009. However, we have emphasized in our previous order that enrolment is not sufficient but it should be ensured that all the child labourers are actually attending the schools and have not become irregular or have dropped out. We would like a progress report of the Labour Secretary and the State Project Director, SSA regarding the enrolment and regularity in school attendance of these out-of-school child labourers on the next date. 15. We also regret that the State Project Director, SSA has not filed a compliance report in compliance of our order dated 30. 1. 2009. It is admitted in the affidavit that 2399 families of child labourers are due for rehabilitation on 28. 2. 2009. In pursuance of our earlier order dated 30. 1. 2009, 255 families of child labourers were given the benefits of income/employment generation schemes of the Government. It therefore appears that very few persons are actually being provided employment in government schemes. In the affidavit of the Labour Secretary, U. P. there is a further complaint that the department of Rural Development and Urban Development have failed to mention the names of the children, their ages, fathers names and addresses to the Principal Secretary ( Labour) and a letter to this effect has been issued. We also direct the department of Rural Development and Urban Development to maintain the said figures by ensuring time bound rehabilitation of the families of child labourers in accordance with direction in the order dated 30. 1. 09 and also in accordance with the present order and letter dated 9. 3. 2009, issued by Principal Secretary (Labour) to these departments and to submit a compliance report on the matter on the next date. Direction to recover compensations from child labour employers in compliance with 1996 Supreme Court order 16. We also find that Rs. 6. 50 lakhs have so far been recovered as compensation after order of Supreme Court dated 10. 12. 1996 from the employers during the period January and February, 2009 and a sum of Rs. 1419. 00 lakhs still remain to be recovered from the employers at the end of February 2009. We also find that Rs. 6. 50 lakhs have so far been recovered as compensation after order of Supreme Court dated 10. 12. 1996 from the employers during the period January and February, 2009 and a sum of Rs. 1419. 00 lakhs still remain to be recovered from the employers at the end of February 2009. The District Magistrates are directed to ensure speedy recovery of pending amount in the 24 districts from the employers and to ensure compliance of the letter dated 9. 3. 2009 issued by the Principal Secretary ( Labour ). Direction to decide child labour cases 17. We also find that only 283 complaints were decided during January and February 2009, out of which 199 culminated in convictions and 84 ended in acquittals. However, 8418 cases are still pending in the District Courts for disposal and only 2974 applications have been filed for expeditious disposal of the cases. We direct that in all the above cases applications should be moved and the District Courts concerned are directed to conclude these cases, if possible within three months, and a compliance report submitted in the matter by the Labour Secretary, on the next listing. RESPONSE OF PRINCIPAL SECRETARY PRIMARY EDUCATION Examine gap between enrollment and attendance of mainstreamed out of school children 18. A counter-affidavit has also been filed on behalf of the Principal Secretary, Primary Eduction, U. P. dated 18. 3. 2009, mentioning that in pursuance of the G. O. dated 13. 5. 2008, 2. 54 lakh children of the age-group of 6-14 years have been enrolled in the primary schools and in alternative schooling. Only 47,824 children are yet to be enrolled. But we do not know whether the enrolled children are actually attending schools regularly or the figures only relate to the number of children enrolled, but not necessarily attending schools. What are the impediments expressed by the parents and others for ensuring regular attendance of such children in the schools? We would like a clarification on these aspects on the next date of listing. Compliance report for universalizing primary education and Court orders and G. O. s on allied issues such as constituting PTAs sought. 19. In our order dated 30. 1. 2009 we had sought the progress report regarding compliance of the G. O. dated 13. 5. We would like a clarification on these aspects on the next date of listing. Compliance report for universalizing primary education and Court orders and G. O. s on allied issues such as constituting PTAs sought. 19. In our order dated 30. 1. 2009 we had sought the progress report regarding compliance of the G. O. dated 13. 5. 2008 issued by the Chief Secretary, UP, for ensuring universalization of primary education, for making education enjoyable, and performance-oriented, i. e the children are receiving gainful learning in the schools, that the syllabus is relevant to the childrens lives, and for ensuring that the principals, teachers, gram pradhans and gram panchayat adhikaris are made responsible if any child is found out of school in violation of Article 21a of the Constitution of India. We had referred to another G. O. dated 13. 1. 2009 also issued by the Secretary, Basic Education, Lucknow, which reiterated the Chief Secretarys earlier G. O. dated 13. 5. 2008 for making elementary education free and compulsory. There is another G. O. dated 26. 11. 2008 issued by the Director Basic Education for forming Parent-Teacher Associations in primary and upper primary schools, which are to hold meetings in the first week of every month. Another circular letter dated 19. 7. 2008 issued by the State Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), calls for regular village education committee (VEC) meetings for enhancing community participation and for enrollment of the children in schools and which mandates visits by the district co- ordinators to at least one school every day and also to increase involvement of the community in the schools. The parents whose children are not attending the schools are to be persuaded to send their children to the schools by the teachers and other prominent local persons of the locality. There is another circular letter of the Project Director, SSA, dated 3. 10. 2008 to all the Basic Shiksha Adhikaris (BSAs) calling for household surveys of the out-of-school children in villages and urban areas and monthly meetings for enforcing these directions. However, we do not find any concrete reports regarding compliance with the abovenoted G. O. s and we would like to have better progress reports in the matter on the next date of listing. Circular dated 9. 3. 09 for identifying and mainstreaming out of school children and enhancing community participation, and conducting PTA and VEC meetings 20. However, we do not find any concrete reports regarding compliance with the abovenoted G. O. s and we would like to have better progress reports in the matter on the next date of listing. Circular dated 9. 3. 09 for identifying and mainstreaming out of school children and enhancing community participation, and conducting PTA and VEC meetings 20. Instead we find that two circulars dated 9. 3. 2009 and 17. 3. 2009 have been issued by the State Project Director, SSA, U. P. and the Education Director, UP. The circular dated 9. 3. 2009 in pursuance of the on-going orders of this Court in the present petition emphasizes the role of community participation for identifying out-of-school children and the necessity of conducting monthly meetings of the PTAs and VECs for this purpose. The circulars however express disappointment that information about the meetings are not sent to the Project Director as to what action is being taken for mainstreaming out-of- school children. The circular has even fixed the dates when the PTA and VEC meetings are to be held. All the out-of-school children in the age-group of 6-14 years are to be identified and the aid of respectable citizens is to be taken for ensuring that every child attends school and remains there. At least one SDI and one Nagar Shiksha Adhikari in the urban areas is also to attend the meetings to be conducted in the schools. The District Coordinators, Community Participation, are to be present in other meetings. The parents of the out-of-school children are to be called to the VEC meetings for motivating them to send their wards to the schools. At the district level the BSAs can give information about the number and reasons for the out-of-school children being out of school to the District Magistrates. Block wise data of the out-of-school children are to be fed on the District Website and meetings of the parents of the out- of-school children are also to be convened at the district level in which the members of the local NGOs and respectable persons are to be invited and they are to develop a method for motivating everyone to get their children enrolled in the nearby schools. The Nagar Shiksha Adhikari has been cast with the responsibility for ensuring that children are enrolled in the schools. The Nagar Shiksha Adhikari has been cast with the responsibility for ensuring that children are enrolled in the schools. Surveys presently being conducted in 10 urban areas of out-of-school children were to be concluded by March, 2009. On the aforesaid report, steps were to be taken for ensuring that all the out-of-school children were enrolled in schools and daily monitoring of this was to be done by the BSAs and the State Project Officer, SSA, was to receive the progress report by 5 p. m. of every Monday by e-mail. The responsibility of the Coordinators, Community Participation, was to visit five schools every week and to personally ensure that community participation increases there. He was to send reports of his tours of schools to the District Coordinator and also the reports of these surveys and visits were to be communicated by the District Coordinators to the BSAs by the 10th of every month. The plan to send all out-of-school children were to be carried out with missionary zeal and the reports of negligent District Coordinators or the SDIs was to be sent to the BSAs. We would like to have a compliance report of the aforesaid directions on the next listing. Keeping two registers in schools for parents comments for improving school functioning - G. O. dtd. 17. 3. 09. 21. We are also pleased to note that in the circular letter dated 17. 3. 2009 the Education Director (Basic), UP, has issued directions to the District Basic Shiksha Adhikaris for keeping two registers in all the primary and upper primary schools in pursuance of the earlier order of this Court in this writ petition dated 30. 1. 09 for ensuring that no passive role was assigned to the PTAs, but that the parents were empowered, and could generate concrete feed back which would improve school functioning, students performance and check teacher truancy. This G. O. provides for two registers, where entries have to be made by the guardians and members of the PTAs during their visits concerning matters relating to the quality of schooling and the second regarding the attendance of mainstreamed drop-out children. This G. O. provides for two registers, where entries have to be made by the guardians and members of the PTAs during their visits concerning matters relating to the quality of schooling and the second regarding the attendance of mainstreamed drop-out children. In the first register the interested guardians, when they visit the schools, are to enter their names, date and time of their visits, the number of absent students and teachers/ shiksha mitras class-wise, remarks regarding cleanliness of the class rooms and toilets and feed back regarding the quality of the mid day meals served and any other noteworthy issue. The last column was earmarked for the steps taken for addressing the problems pointed out by the PTAs. The second register was to mention the names of the parents and dates and times of their visits, the number of registered out-of-school children, the number of such children present class wise, the reasons for absence from the schools of the mainstreamed out- of schools children who were absent at that time according to the teacher and whether the children remain regularly absent. The level of the scholastic achievements of the mainstreamed out-of school children according to their guardians. The level of educational achievement was to be assessed by the performance in the school tests as well as by unit tests to be conducted by the department. The aid of the teachers, the parent-teacher association, village education committee, municipal board members, NGOs and other respectable citizens was solicited for improving the quality of schooling and for ensuring the regular attendance of the teachers and children in the schools and for ensuring that all the out-of-school children attend the schools. We would like to have a comprehensive progress report regarding the implementation of the aforesaid circulars as well as the G. O. s mentioned hereinabove and in the previous order dated 30. 1. 2009 as the said data has not been furnished but only the circulars which have been issued have been annexed with the present affidavit. 0 22. It should be emphasized that this Court appreciates the issuance of fresh circulars as per its directions. 1. 2009 as the said data has not been furnished but only the circulars which have been issued have been annexed with the present affidavit. 0 22. It should be emphasized that this Court appreciates the issuance of fresh circulars as per its directions. However, issuance of fresh circulars cannot be a substitute for actual compliance of the earlier circulars and the orders of this Court, about which actual progress has to take place, as provided in the G. O. s and the same must be communicated to the Court on each date of listing. Adverse remarks on govt. insistence not to take any action save dialogue with parents who retain children at home or in work 23. It has been mentioned in paragraph 5 of the affidavit filed by the Principal Secretary, Primary Education that contrary to what has been suggested in our previous orders, no coercive or punitive measures can be taken against the defaulting parents who withhold their children from school, and that they could be persuaded only by dialogue. We think that whereas it is true that while there is a compelling responsibility under Article 21a of the Constitution and the G. O. s dated 13. 5. 08 and 13. 1. 09 on the teachers, principals and pradhans and panchayat adhikaris and the district level coordinators, community participation to ensure that every child goes to school. It is also true that improving quality of education, making it relevant to life problems, performance oriented, and yet child friendly, with special guidance for weaker students, and addressing the livelihood needs of parents could enhance the chances of a child being sent to school. But it can also not be denied that the parents, are the main persons who must make all efforts to ensure that their child attends school and they can also not in the absence of compelling economic necessity or other extremely urgent reasons be absolved of this duty. We think that the government should not hang its hands in despair that no action save dialogue and persuasion can be taken against the defaulting parents if they refrain from sending their children to schools or when they compel their children to engage in child labour. 24. We think that the government should not hang its hands in despair that no action save dialogue and persuasion can be taken against the defaulting parents if they refrain from sending their children to schools or when they compel their children to engage in child labour. 24. In this context, it has been mentioned in Article 51a (k) of the Constitution (86th Amendment Act of 2002) that it shall be the fundamental duty of every citizen of India - "who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his child or, as the case may be, ward between age of six and fourteen years. " Likewise, clause 10 of the Right to Education Bill, 2008, also provides that "it shall be the duty of every parent or guardian to admit or cause to be admitted his or her child or ward, as the case may be, to an elementary education in the neighbourhood school. " 25. In the absence of any compelling circumstances such as extreme economic necessity, or death or illness or physical incapacity of the parent to work and earn, we think that denial of education to a child by a parent could constitute cruelty with a juvenile under section 23 and 24 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, (hereafter the JJ Act 2000 ). Section 23 is being quoted hereinunder: 1 23. Punishment for cruelty to juvenile or child.-Whoever, having the actual charge of or control over, a juvenile or the child, assaults, abandons, exposes or wilfully neglects the juvenile or causes or procures him to be assaulted, abandoned, exposed or neglected in a manner likely to cause such juvenile or the child unnecessary mental or physical suffering shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extent to six months, or fine, or with both. " (Underlining ours) 26. Therefore, abandonment or neglecting the child in any manner which causes unnecessary physical or mental suffering has been made punishable under the aforesaid provisions. 27. Also Section 24 of the Juvenile Justice Act provides that: "24. employment of juvenile or child for begging.- (1) Whoever employs or uses any juvenile or the child for the purpose or causes any juvenile to beg shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. 27. Also Section 24 of the Juvenile Justice Act provides that: "24. employment of juvenile or child for begging.- (1) Whoever employs or uses any juvenile or the child for the purpose or causes any juvenile to beg shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine. (2) Whoever, having the actual charge of, or control over, a juvenile or the child abets the commission of the offence punishable under sub-section (1), shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year and shall also be liable to fine. " 28. Under the aforesaid provisions even if any person who has the charge or control over a juvenile or child abets or aids the use of that child for the purpose of begging commits an offence under the JJ Act 2000. 29. Under section 2 (d) (i) and (ia) of the J. J. Act 2000 a "child in need of care and protection" means a child under clause (i) " who is found without any home or settled place or abode and without any ostensible means of subsistence," and under clause (i) (a), (which was introduced by the Act No. 33 of 2006, w. e. f. from 22. 8. 2006), a "child in need of care and protection" is also a child "who is found begging or who is either a street child or a working child. " Therefore, if a parent neglects a child by not providing subsistence to him, renders him homeless or causes him to engage in begging or makes him a 2 street child or a working child thereby depriving him of education, the said parent can be said to be denying the child the necessary care and protection and he may be held liable for cruelty or wilful neglect of the child under section 23 or 24 of the Act. 30. That physical and mental sufferings are implicit in a child being compelled to work even by the family, is also apparent from the fact that out of out of the 115 children who had gone away because of scolding by their parents, 44 children had been scolded for not working, and 10 for not working properly, and therefore there is considerable pressure on a child to work from parents. The girl child in particular is very often denied schooling and education because she is either to help in the home in performing domestic chores or looking after younger siblings or sometimes she has even to aid work in the farm and in the external sector. Such denial of education to the child will prove a permanent disadvantage for the child in coping with the problems of life, and can thus amount to imposing mental and physical sufferings on the child and may be considered a form of neglect of the child. In Brown v. Board of Education [ (98 LEd 873 : 347 US 483 (1954)], Earl Warren, CJ, speaking for the US Supreme Court emphasized the right to education in the following terms : "today, education is the most important function of the State and local Governments. . . . . . . . . . It is required in the performance of our most basic responsibility, even services in the armed forces. It is the very foundation of good citizenship. Today it is the principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days it is doubtful any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education. " 31. It needs also to be pointed out that under section 14 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, not only the employment of a child, but even permitting a child to work in contravention of the provisions of section 3 has been made punishable. Hence, if a parent induces or "permits" a child to work, then he could be considered to have contravened the provisions of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986. Likewise, section 4 of the Children (Pledging of Labour) Act, 1933, which is still in force, penalises a parent or guardian who makes any agreement to pledge the labour of his child. In this context, under section 2, an agreement to pledge labour of a child means an agreement, written or oral, express or implied, whereby the parent or guardian of a child in return for any benefit, undertakes to allow the services of the child to be utilised in any employment. In this context, under section 2, an agreement to pledge labour of a child means an agreement, written or oral, express or implied, whereby the parent or guardian of a child in return for any benefit, undertakes to allow the services of the child to be utilised in any employment. Under these circumstances, we are of the view that apart from dialogue and persuasion the State can certainly take action by bringing out appropriate government orders for punishing such parents who compel a child to work, or deny him/ her education, and also for making it compulsory for parents to send their children aged 6 to 14 years to school. 3 State to provide for exceptional circumstances and social protection 32. The State could of course make exceptions by not compelling those parents whose children need to work, because of extreme poverty, or death of one or both parents or unfitness of the surviving parent owing to ill health or other cause to support the child and his siblings, and where the State has itself failed in its duty of providing a social protection network to such indigent children or their families, and ensuring the fundamental right to life, and the attendant right to a dignified existence enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. It has been reported in the press that a centralized nodal authority, the Social Safety Net Authority (SSNA) has been set up in Uttar Pradesh, after World Bank intervention, which is to be overseen by an independent, non-bureaucratic Technical Advisory Group, and is to concern itself with distribution of scholarships to SCs/sts/obcs and students of minority communities, provide financial assistance to SCs and the poor, old age and widow pensions. Later it is to oversee the public distribution system. This nodal authority is to ensure that such socially beneficial schemes come under one umbrella, and duplication and red-tape are avoided. In our view such an authority could also superintend govt. employment guarantee schemes, see that preventive and subsidized primary health care are available to the poor, and also develop good schemes for providing general, medical and crop insurance, pensions etc. especially for the unorganized sector. Starvation and abject poverty and misery of families also results in family indebtedness and bondage etc. . employment guarantee schemes, see that preventive and subsidized primary health care are available to the poor, and also develop good schemes for providing general, medical and crop insurance, pensions etc. especially for the unorganized sector. Starvation and abject poverty and misery of families also results in family indebtedness and bondage etc. . Children and women whose position is the most vulnerable then become subject to gross neglect, discrimination and exploitation, and consequently the child wanders away or is lured into the hands of the child trafficker. We would like to be informed about the details of the SSNA scheme set up by the U. P. government as also a progress report on setting up such an authority from the Director Social Welfare/ Principal Women and Child Development on the next listing. 33. It is further mentioned in the affidavit on behalf of the Principal Secretary, Primary Education, that in pursuance of the letter of the Director, Basic Education, dated 26. 11. 2008, regional officers of the education department have started inspecting the schools and that, as per inspection reports, 2740 schools have already started maintaining teachers diaries and PTAs have been formed in 55835 schools. One-day training programme were conducted for community leaders nominated by 28558 VECs. We are pleased to learn about this development but the acid test is whether there has been genuine improvement in the functioning of the schools and monitoring of the performance of the schools by the PTAs and VECs and community leaders and the scholastic achievements of the student in tests conducted by some external independent bodies. Suggestions to select PTA members by election, for greater parent empowerment and school monitoring - Karnataka model cited 4 34. Regarding the observations of this Court in the order dated 30. 1. 2009 that PTAs consisting of parents and the teachers who have been selected by the Devanagari alphabetical order may not show the required degree of enthusiasm for monitoring school performance compared to motivated parents who need to be identified for this role. In reply it is stated in paragraph 9 of the counter affidavit that the Directors letter dated 26. 11. In reply it is stated in paragraph 9 of the counter affidavit that the Directors letter dated 26. 11. 2008, where the aforesaid procedure is outlined gives a proper mode for selection of PTA members and that delegation of powers to someone like the headmaster of the school or the village pradhan to nominate members in the PTAs may not result in fair selections of the best parents for the job. Here we may point out that we have not insisted that the parent members of the PTA be nominated by the headmaster of the school or the village pradhan. There is nothing to prevent the parent member being elected by the PTAs or the VECs. 35. In this context, it would be useful for the Principal Secretary (Basic Education) and the Director of Education (Basic), UP to have a look at the model bye-laws notified by the Government of Karnataka on 14. 6. 2006, styled the Karnataka Grama Panchayats (School Development and Monitoring Committees) (Model) Bye-laws, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as the SDMC bye-laws. Under these bye- laws, the SDMCs are to be constituted for each school within a panchayat area. The SDMCs are to consist of Head Teacher of the school, health worker and Anganwadi worker as ex-officio members. The Parents Council (which is a body of parent of all the children enrolled and attending in a given school) will elect 9 representatives from amongst themselves to the SDMCs. There will be a minimum of three women, one representative each of the SC and ST categories and one representative of the minority community. Two students - one boy and one girl, (wherever possible), from the senior most class (es) of the school, elected by the students of the respective classes - shall be the students representatives in the SDMCs The SDMCs, as above, shall nominate one person from the self-help group in the village, one representative, who is either an educationist residing in the village or is from an NGO operating in the village and one donor of land or a person who has made a donation to the school to the extent or greater than Rs. 10,000/ -. 10,000/ -. The Civil Amenities Committee (CAC), which has been constituted under section 61 of the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, (which broadly correspond with the Village Education Committee in UP), is the reviewing authority over the SDMCs, which also provides financial assistance wherever necessary. It also convenes joint meeting of the office-bearers of the SDMCs of all schools within the panchayat area, at least once in a three month period. 36. The SDMC again elects a president and a vice-president, one of whom must be a woman from among the members who are representatives of the Parents Council. The Head Teacher is appointed as ex- officio Member-Secretary of the SDMC. The president and vice-president hold office for a term of 3 years or until he/she ceases to be a member, whichever is earlier. The president presides over all meetings of the SDMC as its chairperson and sanctions casual leaves of teachers, operates the complaint box etc. The Member-Secretary prepares the annual work plan for the approval of the SDMC; prepares the agenda for the meeting of the SDMC; keeps the minutes of the meeting; maintains accounts and records of the SDMC; submits a report of the activities of the SDMC to the Parents Council and the CACs 5 at least once in three months. The SDMC also verifies the attendance of the teachers, non-teaching staff and students from the attendance registers maintained by the school. It ensures the enrollment of all non-school-going children in the village by conducting drives, bridge courses and special campaigns for enrollment of girl children, disabled children and child labourers and their parents; monitors dropout register and ensures attendance and retention of all children in the school; maintains distribution of incentives such as free text books, uniforms and scholarships. It convenes meetings of the Parents Council and also periodical meetings of parents who fail to send their children; looks into the hygiene and maintenance of the school and its infrastructure such as playground, compound walls, furnitures, provision of drinking water etc. It can also hire services of local persons as teachers or instructors on a voluntary basis on a fixed honorarium, (which broadly corresponds with the Shiksha Mitra in UP), provided that no regular post is filled up on a permanent basis in this manner. It can also hire services of local persons as teachers or instructors on a voluntary basis on a fixed honorarium, (which broadly corresponds with the Shiksha Mitra in UP), provided that no regular post is filled up on a permanent basis in this manner. It has to ensure a minimum of 220 instructional days in a year, the periodical review of the performance of the teachers and facilitate the compliance with the minimum quality standards as laid down by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) or other programmes of the Central and State Governments. It also facilitates need-based training for teachers. It also ensures performance of students and facilitates compliance with the NCERT or State standards. It gives suggestions for reform of the school-system to the CAC, Cluster Resource Person and Education Coordinator. An oral or written complaint may be made directly to the CAC, or through the schools complaint box regarding employment of children as child labourers, physical or sexual abuse of school children, sexual harassment or abuse of children, staff (teaching or non-teaching) in the school; any form of indignity or discrimination caused to the child or any staff member; negligence of teachers, non-teaching staff or SDMC members, or misappropriation of funds etc. The president of the SDMC has to look at the complaint on a weekly basis and forward the same to the CAC, which in the event of a grave complaint of misappropriation has to forward the same to the two- member Enquiry Team, which has to complete its enquiry within 15 days and forward its findings to the CAC. Where complaint is regarding any form of physical or sexual abuse of any child, the complaint is to be forwarded to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) of the area and the police for action under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000. Constituting committees such as the SDMCs in Karnataka will go a long way towards empowering the parents and making the school answerable and will lead to genuine reform, unlike the Parents-Teachers Committees in U. P. , which are largely ornamental in nature, and which are presently constituted by the parents selected in alphabetical order, who have no power to take any action against the defaulting teachers, non-teaching staff or others. In the Karnataka SDMCs we find that the members are elected and the posts of even the president and the vice-president, who are to be selected from among these members, are based on election and the president has even been conferred powers to sanction casual leave of the Head Teacher. The SDMC Rules also provide for inclusion of NGOs or educationist members, and student representatives. We would, therefore, like the Principal Secretary, Basic Education and the Director of Education (Basic Education) to again reconsider whether some of the suggestions made in the model bye-laws made by the Government of Karnataka and some other models where a more pro-active role is given to the parent-members who are most concerned with the education of their children, could not be incorporated in G. O. s or similar laws framed in U. P. , and we would like the response of the government to these suggestions on the next date of listing. 6 School Weekly calendars 37. We are happy that the schools have been provided with the weekly calendar of syllabus to be followed in the schools. However, we would like to have a progress report of the extent to which the weekly calendars are being followed and to what extent the PTAs or the SDMCs, in case they are constituted, are ensuring that this calendar is observed. Time period for fresh SDI appointments sought 38. Likewise, we appreciate the requisition sent to the UPPSC to fill up the posts of Sub-Divisional Inspector of Schools (SDI ). We would like the progress report in this matter from the Principal Secretary, Basic Education, as also from the Secretary, UPPSC about the time frame by which the required SDIs will be appointed. Issue of shortage of teachers and alternative suggestions 39. We are pleased to note that steps are being taken for identifying schools with shortage of teachers and that under the Teachers Deployment Rules, 2008, the newly recruited teachers are being posted only in those schools were there is a shortage of teachers, which we are informed is very prevalent. Issue of shortage of teachers and alternative suggestions 39. We are pleased to note that steps are being taken for identifying schools with shortage of teachers and that under the Teachers Deployment Rules, 2008, the newly recruited teachers are being posted only in those schools were there is a shortage of teachers, which we are informed is very prevalent. Our additional suggestion in this connection, apart from the fact that the teacher shortages be filled up at the earliest, is that if there are very few students in some schools and areas as parents are preferring to send their children to the private schools in the neighbourhood, where they feel they can exercise more control over the instructional process and the government schools have only been mechanically kept open, we would like the government to consider whether it would not be more rational to direct closure of such schools and to subsidize the schooling of the children in the neighbourhood private schools where other parents with limited means are sending their children which may presently be beyond the capacity of these parents who are not sending their children to any school. Our impression is that the costs of the government defraying the schooling and other costs for sending the children to such a school may be less compared to the costs required for establishing and running a poorly attended government school. In this context, under Clause 12 (2) of the Right to Education Bill, when an unaided school provides free and compulsory education upto 25% of its strength, it shall be reimbursed to the extent charged by the school from the child, or the per-child expenditure that the State would have incurred for the childs education, whichever is less. We would like a response on the aforesaid direction 7 and suggestions for filling up teacher shortages, of the Court as well as a progress report as to what steps are being taken for ensuring that the teaching work is done in a school for 220 days in a year. 40. It has also been mentioned that the task force which has been constituted by the G. O. dated 10. 12. 2008 has conducted inspections in 444 schools and has found the attendance of Head Teachers to be 86. 83 percent, assistant teachers 70. 40 percent and para teachers 78. 71 percent. 40. It has also been mentioned that the task force which has been constituted by the G. O. dated 10. 12. 2008 has conducted inspections in 444 schools and has found the attendance of Head Teachers to be 86. 83 percent, assistant teachers 70. 40 percent and para teachers 78. 71 percent. This figure does appear to be on the higher side and we are not sure whether these inspections were carried out in a random manner without earlier information or that the teachers had knowledge of the inspections and, therefore, were present on the date when the inspections were carried out. Matter of electrification of schools 41. It is also mentioned in the Principal Secretarys counter affidavit that sanction for electrification of 5651 schools has been granted by government. Internal wiring has been done in 53581 schools and 3487 schools have been electrified. We are happy that this development, which has been effected after the Court started monitoring the matter and recommended that a computerized record of attendance of children, particulars of drop outs etc. be maintained in all the schools, but we would like to see hundred percent electrification. Let a progress report in the matter be submitted on the next date of listing. Digital photography of school children and direction for preparing computerized data base 42. Again, we are pleased that digital photography has been completed in respect of 4685476 students and it is also mentioned in paragraph 14 of the affidavit that the digital photography of the remaining children shall be completed by 31st March, 2009. As mentioned in our order dated 22. 5. 08 that as poor parents frequently do not possess photographs of their children, with compulsory digital photography of children, and all children going to school in compliance with Article 21-A, in the event of a child going missing, the photograph could immediately be flashed on television, in the print media, and even on the missing childrens web site for rescuing the child. There was also a suggestion by that order that a computerized data bank of all school going children, mentioning annually updated information of the class in which he is studying, name of his school and place of schooling, whether the child was promoted at the end of the year, whether he has dropped out, and the name of the changed school and its location. The authorities could consider making this information available on the internet, so that the claim that the child was actually (and not only shown as) studying in a particular school could be verified. If there is a difficulty in preparing this computerized data base with digitalized photographs of 8 all children, it may first be prepared regarding mainstreamed out of school children, as they are the most vulnerable for dropping out or getting engaged in child labour. In case they drop out the reasons for their dropping out could also be mentioned. On the next date we would like a progress report as to whether digital photography of all the children in the government schools has now been completed and the steps being taken for preparing the computerized data bases described above. Survey of out of school children in Allahabad and Lucknow urban areas and problems 43. It is mentioned in paragraph 16 of the Principal Secretary, (Primary Educations) affidavit that the task of conducting surveys of out of school children in the urban areas of Allahabad and Lucknow has been entrusted to an NGO, the Ehsas Foundation, which has started its work and has deployed 125 field workers to cover 110 wards and the survey team for Allahabad consists of 75 skilled workers who are to survey 70 wards. The Ehsas Foundation has informed that they have consulted some local NGOs in Allahabad and Lucknow to complete the task effectively. But we find that a letter has been sent by Ehsas dated 3. 3. 2009 to the Member-Secretary, Legal Services Authority wherein it has has been stated that the order of this Court dated 30. 1. 2009 was communicated to Ehsas by the Member-Secretary. The general secretary of Ehsas, Ms. Sachi Singh, states that no such work has been assigned to Ehsas either verbally or in writing. As this work requires a lot of manpower of which they are short, Ehsas is ready to provide technical support like data tabulation etc. to any organisation like Pratham willing to conduct the survey. We are puzzled by this contradiction between the stance taken by Ehsas in the said letter and the averment contained in paragraph 16 of the affidavit filed by the Principal Secretary, Primary Education, and we would like a clarification and explanation of this contradiction on the next date. Conditional cash transfer scheme 44. We are puzzled by this contradiction between the stance taken by Ehsas in the said letter and the averment contained in paragraph 16 of the affidavit filed by the Principal Secretary, Primary Education, and we would like a clarification and explanation of this contradiction on the next date. Conditional cash transfer scheme 44. To the Courts recommendation, as mentioned in the previous order dated 30. 1. 2009, that as suggested by the UNICEF the Government may consider initiating a modified form of the conditional cash transfer scheme for parents by giving scholarships or other benefits including fee support to the parents whose children regularly attend schools and their learning outcomes are satisfactory, and who undergo vaccinations etc. and also to provide recognition and other benefits to unaided schools if they enroll out-of-school poor children. Such approaches for motivating parents have been widely adopted in several South American countries with considerable success. This system of giving special benefits to unaided schools which teach poor children is also provided in section 12 of The Right of Education to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008, which provides that in the event of an unaided school enrolling 25 percent of such children belonging to the weaker sections and disadvantaged groups reimbursement may be made by the government to the extent of the per child expenditure incurred by 9 the State or the actual amount charged from the child, whichever is less. Unfortunately, this suggestion of the Court was not accepted in paragraph 18 of the counter affidavit filed by the Principal Secretary, Primary Education, by observing that in UP there are primary schools in all the habitations within a distance of 1 km and that such a scheme is useful where private schools have universal presence and less visible in rural areas. But the point is that even in rural areas in many cases parents prefer sending their children for studies to the private unaided schools because they feel that teachers in private schools are more answerable than teachers in government schools, and the child will learn more in the private school, although they show their child as formally enrolled in the village government school, for the extraneous advantages offered by the government school. We are informed by officials with the Unicef, U. P. that such a conditional cash transfer scheme of giving scholarships and benefits to children withdrawn from child labour, and joining primary schools and being promoted to higher classes has been initiated by the Labour Department, and Unicef, Lucknow on a pilot basis for Moradabad and Lucknow towns and has produced excellent results. There is practically no attrition into child labour by the children are regularly attending classes. Other incentives like entitlements under the Public distribution system (PDS), for below poverty line (BPL) families who withdraw children from child labour, get them immunized and send them to schools, disability, old age and widows pensions by the social welfare boards, provision of credit etc. to the poor could be considered. In the light of the aforesaid observations we would like a response of the Principal Secretaries (Primary Education), Labour U. P. to the Courts suggestion for initiating the conditional cash transfer scheme for encouraging a childs education on the next date. RESPONSE OF SECRETARY WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT Enquiries about when CWCs and JJBs would be constituted 45. A counter affidavit dated 19. 3. 09 has also been filed on behalf of the Secretary, Women and Child Development, UP which refers to the query of this Court in the order dated 7. 11. 2008 as to whether Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) and Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) have been constituted by 31. 3. 2009 as was promised by the State Government regarding which we again raised a query in the order dated 30. 1. 2009. It has been stated in the affidavit that steps are being taken for constituting Boards/committees at the earliest. Interestingly, what are the impediments in not constituting the said committees by the promised date, i. e. 31. 3. 2009 have not been indicated. However, a Government Order dated 10. 6. 2008 has been referred to whereby the District Magistrates have been empowered to authorise executive magistrates within their jurisdictions to discharge the duties of Child Welfare Committees till the constitution of the Child Welfare Committees and they have also to exercise all the powers under the Juvenile Justice Rules, 2007. It is pointed out that in 9 districts, i. e. Lucknow, Lalitpur, Meerut, Kanpur Nagar, Azamgarh, Deoria, Varanasi, Ghazipur and Allahabad, CWCs have been constituted and in the other districts magistrates have been nominated whose list has been annexed. It is pointed out that in 9 districts, i. e. Lucknow, Lalitpur, Meerut, Kanpur Nagar, Azamgarh, Deoria, Varanasi, Ghazipur and Allahabad, CWCs have been constituted and in the other districts magistrates have been nominated whose list has been annexed. 0 46. One alibi taken is that in compliance of this Courts order dated 30. 1. 2009, a Selection Committee for constituting CWCs and JJBs was set up, but owing to enforcement of the Nirvachan Achar Sanhita, further action could not be taken. 47. We think that this alibi will not be available on the next date of listing because at that stage elections etc. would have been over long ago and no model code would apply. It is also not explicable as to how implementation of routine matters like constitution of CWCs and JJBs, which are not at all policy matters and where there are even orders of the Court directing that the same may be constituted expeditiously, the alibi of the election code is being adopted for justifying delays and inaction in the constitution of the said bodies and for taking other actions for social welfare. 48. We also need to express a doubt here whether under the new Act, i. e the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 as amended by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2006 (hereinafter referred to as "the Amended JJ Act"), it would be possible to confer powers on the Magistrates to function as Child Welfare Committees as section 29 (1) of the Amended JJ Act requires that the Child Welfare Committees be constituted within one year of the notification of the Amended JJ Act, 2006. This date has been specified as 28. 2. 2006. Section 29 also mentions that the committees shall consist of Chairperson and four other members, one of whom has to be a woman and another would be an expert in matters concerning children and under these provisions prima facie it appears that the Magistrates can no longer function as the Child Welfare Committees or members thereof. 49. 2. 2006. Section 29 also mentions that the committees shall consist of Chairperson and four other members, one of whom has to be a woman and another would be an expert in matters concerning children and under these provisions prima facie it appears that the Magistrates can no longer function as the Child Welfare Committees or members thereof. 49. Under the earlier Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 ( hereinafter referred to as the jj Act, 1986), under section 7 (2), in areas where no juvenile welfare boards (which correspond with the CWCs in the present Act) had been constituted, the powers conferred on the Juvenile Welfare Boards, could be exercised by the DM/sdm or Metropolitan Magistrates or Judicial Magistrates of the first class. On the face of it there appears to be no parallel provision in the present JJ Act 2000. 50. So far as the Juvenile Justice Boards for juveniles in conflict with the law are concerned, section 4 provides that within a period of one year of the commencement of the Amended JJ Act, 2006, Juvenile Justice Boards have to be constituted in every district consisting of Metropolitan Magistrates or Judicial Magistrates of the first class and two social workers, one of whom is a woman. Under section 4 (3) no Magistrate shall be appointed as a member of the Board unless he has special knowledge or training in child psychology or child welfare and no social worker shall be appointed as a member of the Board unless he has been actively involved in health, education, or welfare activities pertaining to children for alleast seven years. There thus appear to be special procedures for dealing with children who need care and protection and juveniles in conflict with the law. 51. We are also of the view that CWCs and JJBs, independent of regular Magistrates need to be constituted as they would be specially sensitive to matters relating to children, without being overburdened with the multiple duties entrusted to the Magistrates and they may be in a better position to dispose of these matters expeditiously. That the Magistrates are in fact not in a position to dispose of the applications in their capacities as CWCs and JJBs is apparent from the fact that this Court has already expressed its dismay in its order 30. 1. That the Magistrates are in fact not in a position to dispose of the applications in their capacities as CWCs and JJBs is apparent from the fact that this Court has already expressed its dismay in its order 30. 1. 09 against the production of only 22 child labourers before the CWCs in the period July to September 2008 and even thereafter as admitted by the Labour Commisioner in his affidavit dated 18. 3. 09 no child has been produced before the Magistrates who have been conferred powers of the CWC. We would, therefore, on the next date of listing like to obtain a response from the Secretary, Women and Child Development, UP as to how and under what provisions the Magistrates have been conferred powers to function as CWCs by the Government Order dated 10. 6. 2008,and the number of child labourers and other vulnerable children who have been produced before the CWCs/ Magistrates concerned subsequent to the period when the 22 child labourers were produced and the total number of such children who require to be produced. We would also like to have a progress report on the action taken by the CWCs and the JJBs pursuant to the application which were submitted before them by the Secretary, Women and Child Development, U. P. up till 6. 3. 09 for expeditious disposal of the matters as directed by the earlier order of this Court dated 30. 1. 09. The Registry, with aid from the Member Secretary, Legal Services Authority, Lucknow may also call for progress and compliance reports from the CWCs and JJBs concerned with regard to the expeditious disposal of the matters where applications have been moved by the Secretary, Women and Child Development and inform the Court on the next date This Court would also like to be informed whether the special training and sensitization that is contemplated under section 4 (3) of the JJ Act, 2000 have been given to the Magistrates. Alarm on non-disposal of criminal cases of 382 juveniles in observation homes for over six months 52. We are alarmed by the situation that more than 382 inmates are languishing in observation homes for over six months and yet their matters have not been disposed of and applications were even moved in that regard on 6. 3. 2009. Alarm on non-disposal of criminal cases of 382 juveniles in observation homes for over six months 52. We are alarmed by the situation that more than 382 inmates are languishing in observation homes for over six months and yet their matters have not been disposed of and applications were even moved in that regard on 6. 3. 2009. The matters shall now be disposed of expeditiously by the Courts concerned and a compliance/ progress report submitted to the Court on the next date. Direction for urgent constitution of CWCs and JJBs, progress reports sought 53. We are also not satisfied by the fact that advertisements were made on 26. 5. 2008 and 27. 9. 2008 for constituting the CWCs and JJBs. The said paragraph does not disclose the urgency as per the previous commitment of the State Government, that the said body was to be constituted by 31. 3. 2009. The said period has already expired. In this regard, we would like to obtain a progress report as to what steps have been taken for expeditiously constituting the CWCs and JJBs. RESPONSE OF DIRECTOR HANDICAPPED WELFARE U. P. Feedback and Notice to NGOs directed 54. An affidavit dated 19. 3. 09 has been filed on behalf of Director, Handicapped Welfare, Government of UP in response to the concern expressed by this Court regarding mentally challenged children, who have been abandoned by their families and regarding the Courts query in the order dated 30. 1. 2009 about the existing facilities provided by the Government and the NGOs for putting these children in homes and for their rehabilitation. The Director Handicapped Welfare, U. P. points out in the affidavit that in Lucknow and Allahabad there are Mamta Rajkiya Vidyalayas for 50 inmates each. The Lucknow institution is for girls and the Allahabad institution is for boys. Rs. 850/- is being spent per mensem for the survival of the inmates and they are being provided free education, lodging, fooding, living and other facilities. We would like to have a further details as to whether the said institutions are being monitored by official channels and by civil society groups and this Court would like to be informed about the names of the official and non-official NGO bodies that are monitoring the running of these institutions. We would like to have a further details as to whether the said institutions are being monitored by official channels and by civil society groups and this Court would like to be informed about the names of the official and non-official NGO bodies that are monitoring the running of these institutions. We would like the said groups to be given notice so that they may provide feed back to this Court regarding the running of the institutions and the problems that are being encountered. We would also like to be informed whether any specialised psychiatric and other medical facilities are provided for dealing with the special problems faced by the mentally challenged children. 55. It has also been mentioned in the affidavit that a budget has been sanctioned for construction of buildings for 50 residential and 50 non-residential inmates at Bareilly, Gorakhpur and Meerut in Mansik Mandit Aashraya Graha Saha Prashikshan Kendra. We would like to know the concrete time period when the construction work will be started by the UP Samaj Kalyan Nirman Nigam, Lucknow and what is the amount of budget that has already been sanctioned for the said homes. 3 56. It is further mentioned in the affidavit that in Lucknow six NGOs and one each in Agra, Meerut, Kanpur, Barabanki, Sultanpur, Etawa, Fatehpur, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Banda, Bareilly, Chandauli, Moradabad and PIlibhit are working for the welfare of mentally retarded children by providing them education and training on funds from the Union of India. We would like to have more details about the functioning of government aided private institutions, the amount of funds that have been earmarked for these institutions by the Union of India, the terms of the scheme for the grant of funds and the dates when the actual disbursement of funds were made. We would like to have a response in the matter both from the Director, Handicapped Welfare UP and his counterpart in the Union of India through the Assistant Solicitor General of India. 57. We would like to have a response in the matter both from the Director, Handicapped Welfare UP and his counterpart in the Union of India through the Assistant Solicitor General of India. 57. The latter query has been raised by this Court because we are finding that in many schemes where the State and the Central governments seek support from private bodies for creating and running institutions for the welfare of children, despite commitment by the State to provide the funds, it often leaves the private bodies to arrange for the funds with their own initiative, even though they do not have adequate financial capacities, resulting in starvation and suffering for the inmates of these homes. This inaction is to be strongly criticized because the aid of the private bodies were sought in the first place to fulfil the legal obligations of the State under Article 39 (e) and 39 (f) of the Constitution of India to protect and provide for the welfare of such children who are mentally challenged or who need care and protection, and the State was not in a position to fulfill its commitments adequately or expeditiously. RESPONSE OF CENTRAL MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT - Child Tracking system matter, delay critcized 58. An affidavit has been filed by Shri K. C. Sinha, Assistant Solicitor General of India on behalf of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India in response to the Courts query in the order dated 30. 1. 2009 regarding updated time frame when the National Website and tracking system for the missing children would become operational. It is mentioned that a centrally sponsored Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) has been approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 26. 2. 2009, which has emphasised the need for a tracking system, and recovery and rehabilitation of the children, who run away or go missing. But it is pointed out that as setting up the aforesaid procedures is a complex activity requiring a lot of time and resources, which call for setting up of a Central Project Support Unit (CPSU), to be integrated with the State Project Support Units (SPSU) and the District Child Protection Societies (DCPS), a long time would be required for putting the system in place. The shared ratio between the Centre, State and the NGOs for meeting the expenditure under the scheme would be 90 to 10 with 100% funding by the Centre to the Child Line services and other 4 services run by the Government of India, like the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD), Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), Central and State Support Units. The State Governments and Union Territories (UTs) are still to sign the memorandum of understanding (MOU) for committing their share of funds for implementation of the schemes. 59. We are again disappointed to note that the Central Government has not come forward with any concrete proposal as to when this child tracking system would be operational. In this connection, we would again like to draw the attention of the concerned Ministry to the reply of the Under Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India to the query made by the Court on 12. 2. 2007, about the time frame when the said tracking system would become operational, where it was mentioned that a meeting of the Core Committee constituted to monitor the plan of action for setting up the tracking system was held on 9. 2. 2007 and it was stated that the Central National Portal of missing children tracking system was likely to be ready by June, 2007. Two years have elapsed since then and we are faced with the present reply of the Under Secretary of the same ministry wherein he has not even been able to mention any date when the said tracking system would be operational and why it has not been made operational even though more than two years have elapsed since this Court started monitoring the matter and the Ministry itself had also decided to set up such a tracking system. We now hope that on the next date of listing the Ministry would be able to furnish us with the concrete time frame when the aforesaid scheme would be made operational by the Central Government and also explain whey it has not yet been made functional. Counter-affidavit of DIG, Varanasi - Childlines intervention about missing child Vijay Kumar 60. A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the DIG, Varanasi dated 20. 3. 09 in response to the intervention of the Child Line, Allahabad dated 30. 1. Counter-affidavit of DIG, Varanasi - Childlines intervention about missing child Vijay Kumar 60. A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of the DIG, Varanasi dated 20. 3. 09 in response to the intervention of the Child Line, Allahabad dated 30. 1. 2009 for tracing out Vijay Kumar Yadav, son of Bhagwan Yadav, resident of village Gaharpur, police station Kapsethi, district Varanasi. It is reported that the said boy is working in Bombay and his mobile number has also been mentioned. In case the intervenor disputes this position he may file a rejoinder affidavit on the next date if so advised. DGP U. P. s counter- affidavit - Childlines intervention about missing children Munauwar and Kanchan Kumar 61. A separate counter affidavit dated 19. 3. 09 has been filed on behalf of Director General of Police, U. P in response to the intervention application, moved by Child Line, Allahabad. In this affidavit it has been pointed out that so far as the missing child Munauwar is concerned, an FIR has been lodged at Case 5 Crime No. 36 of 2009, under Section 363, P. S. Chakia, Allahabad, in which one accused has been arrested. So far as another missing child Kanchan Kumar is concerned, on 18. 7. 2007, his missing report has been registered at Crime No. 497 of 2007 under Section 363 I. P. C. The Investigation is proceedings but the said two children have not been recovered yet. We would like the police to take immediate steps for recovery of said children and to submit compliance report by the next date of listing. The intervenor may also file a rejoinder affidavit on the next date if so advised. DGP, U. P. s counter-affidavit, Childlines intervention regarding 38 missing children 62. Another affidavit has been filed on behalf of the DGP, UP, Lucknow dated 20. 3. 09 in response to another intervention application of Father Raymond D Souza of Child line dated 30. 1. 2009 regarding 38 missing children. In this affidavit it is mentioned that 8 children have now returned and investigation is going on. In case the intervenor is raising a dispute regarding this claim or would like to refer to any other aspects he may file a a rejoinder affidavit on the next date. 1. 2009 regarding 38 missing children. In this affidavit it is mentioned that 8 children have now returned and investigation is going on. In case the intervenor is raising a dispute regarding this claim or would like to refer to any other aspects he may file a a rejoinder affidavit on the next date. We would like a progress report regarding the investigation and arrest of the remaining 30 missing children from the police authorities on the next date. District Magistrate, Allahabads response - Non-school going children in Mohallas Ganjiya, Kharkhauni and Bhatta, Courts queries 63. An affidavit has also been filed on behalf of the District Magistrate, Allahabad dated 20. 3. 2009 regarding the directions of this Court for better details regarding the reasons why 105 children in Mohallas Ganjiya, Kharkhauni and Bhatta who are admittedly out of school not going to schools and whether they have dropped out or never joined the schools and the names of some of the schools in the neighbourhood where similarly placed parents are sending their children, and the fees of those schools. It is mentioned in paragraph 3 of the affidavit that in Mohalla Ganjiya there are 79 children, in Kharkauni 18 children and in Bhatta 8 children, who were not going to schools. Their enrolment has been made in two Residential Bridge Courses (RBCs) and three Alternative Innovative Education Centres (AIECs) and they have started their studies from 10. 1. 2009 and since then they are regularly attending classes and being educated and parents are also being counselled to ensure that the children attend the schools regularly and sincerely. 64. We hope that such a rosy picture as painted in the affidavit is actually visible on the ground, which could be verified by a perusal of the attendance register regarding the regularity of the children in school and by conducting a test of the children by an external agency for enquiring as to whether the 6 children are actually learning anything in school, and whether sufficient number of teachers are teaching in these schools, and the children are being provided with food and other necessities for carrying out their education. In this connection, we would like the intervenor Bharti Chetna Sanstha who had informed the Court regarding these out of school children to actually verify the claims of the district administration in this regard and to file a rejoinder affidavit on the next date of listing. 65. It is also mentioned in the affidavit filed on behalf of the District Magistrate, Allahabad that so far as 180 children who are below 6 years of age, the Basic Shiksha Adhikari has forwarded an application to the District Programme Officer on 28. 2. 2009 for providing them pre-primary education in ICDS centres. 66. In the affidavit filed on behalf of the Integrated Child Development Scheme Officer, Allahabad, it is mentioned that in pursuance of the aforesaid directions of the BSA, he has directed for their enrolment in pre-primary education in ICDS centres. He has further directed all the Child Development Project Officers for necessary action. We would like to obtain a compliance report in this regard from the District Programme Officer and the Basic Shiksha Adhikari as to whether the said children have been enrolled for pre-primary education in ICDS centres, on the next date of listing. Intervention application by Bharatiye Chetna Sanstha regarding meeting with parents of mainstreamed out of school children, and chart of Nagar Shiksha Adhikari regarding teacher shortage. 67. Sri Sudeep Singh, Advocate has filed another application dated 6. 4. 09 supported by an affidavit on behalf of the Bharatiye Chetna Sanstha. The said affidavit mentions that in order to strengthen the proper functioning of the schools imparting primary education and to motivate parents/guardian of the children in the ages of 6 to 14, who were either out of schools or dropped out or irregular, certain NGOs in Allahabad viz. Bharatiye Chetna Sanstha, Udaan, Pratham, Vigyan Foundation, Child Line and some other individuals formed a group and conducted a survey of a primary school at Tulsipur where they organised a meeting of parents and teachers. In the meeting the parents complained about the poor quality of education because of which the children were not taking any interest in attending the classes. The NGOs state that this picture obtains in other schools also. The teachers complained of shortage of teaching staff because of non-filling of posts of primary teachers. It was pointed out that two teachers had been performing the duties of booth label officers since August, 2008. 68. The NGOs state that this picture obtains in other schools also. The teachers complained of shortage of teaching staff because of non-filling of posts of primary teachers. It was pointed out that two teachers had been performing the duties of booth label officers since August, 2008. 68. The last allegation was substantiated by a chart issued by the Nagar Shiksha Adhikari, Allahabad (which has been annexed with the application filed by the Bharatiye Chetna Sanstha) showing that in the 125 primary and 32 Upper Primary (Junior) Schools, 421 posts were lying vacant out of the sanctioned 7 strength of 625 teachers and assistant teachers, i. e. only 204 teachers were teaching and 54 posts of the 236 sanctioned posts of shiksha Mitras were lying vacant. So far as the Upper Primary Schools were concerned 44 assistant teachers and 63 Shiksha Mitras were working as Booth label officers since August/ September 1, 2008. This is a clear violation of the mandate of the Supreme Court in AIR 2008 SUPREME COURT 655, Election Commission of India v. St. Marys School and Ors. that teaching staff can be put on duty in roll revision and other work relating to elections only on holidays and non-teaching days. Non-teaching staff, however, could be put on such duties on any day or at any time, if permissible in law. However as the elections are practically over, this issue has become somewhat academic. However, we have referred to St. Marys Schools case (supra) only to emphasize the importance that the Apex Court has assigned to education and for directing that in such a casual manner as in the present case, the already short number of teaching staff should not be withdrawn from discharging their primary obligation of teaching children for such long periods. In the present case we find that this has extended to eight or nine months! It was also pointed out in the Nagar Shiksha Adhikaris candid chart and he should be congratulated for his forthright disclosures, that since 1973 there have been no fresh appointments to teaching posts, despite the major shortfall. We are alarmed with this situation on the ground. It completely nullifies the governments commitment to enforce Article 21-A of the Constitution for ensuring that every child of the ages of 6 to 14 years attends school, and the government order dated 13. 5. We are alarmed with this situation on the ground. It completely nullifies the governments commitment to enforce Article 21-A of the Constitution for ensuring that every child of the ages of 6 to 14 years attends school, and the government order dated 13. 5. 08 issued by the Chief Secretary, the circular of the Secretary, Basic Education dated 13. 1. 09 and other orders pursuant thereof for universalization of primary education and for improvement of its quality and for holding Principals, teachers, gram pradhans and village panchayat adhikaris answerable if any child was found out of school during school hours. We would like a response on the next date of listing from the the Secretary Primary Education about the time frame when the teacher vacancies are likely to be filled up, if at all. On the next date we would also like to obtain feedback from the Nagar Shiksha Adhikari or District Magistrate by means of a table as to the number of children who are enrolled in each of 125 primary and 32 upper primary (junior) schools, and the proportion of children who actually attended classes in the past three months, in each of these schools. 69. We have sought the aforesaid information because we are conscious of the cumbersome and dilatory procedure required for enrolling new teachers. In case some schools have very low enrolment/ attendance we would like to suggest to the district authorities and the State government to even consider closing down those schools, and diverting the teachers who are working in those schools to functioning schools although they may not be functioning optimally because of teacher shortage. Other children could be sent to private schools in the neighbourhood where other similarly placed parents belonging to the weaker sections are sending their children, with fee or other economic support from the administration/ government as it may be a cheaper option to put children in the functioning private schools, rather than to start a new school. We would like a response from the Principal Secretary, Primary Education, U. P. , or the Director of Education (Basic), U. P. and the District Magistrate, Allahabad, the Basic Shiksha Adhikari or the Nagar Shiksha Adhikari on these suggestions on the next date of listing. We would like a response from the Principal Secretary, Primary Education, U. P. , or the Director of Education (Basic), U. P. and the District Magistrate, Allahabad, the Basic Shiksha Adhikari or the Nagar Shiksha Adhikari on these suggestions on the next date of listing. 8 We also think that the District Magistrate and other educational authorities should take the help of NGOs like the intervenors who are interested in ensuring that all out of school children join school and the quality of education is improved, by providing them access to the schools and for taking feed back from them as to how the quality of teaching can be improved, parents can be motivated and teacher and student attendance in schools improved. Affidavit of intervenor M/s Rights Organization about Public Display System. 70. One affidavit has also been filed by the intervener, Jagriti Singh, Advocate, who represents M/s. Rights Organisation. He has annexed a proposal containing the features and financial details for setting up a Public Display System (PDS ). We have already noted in our order dated 30. 1. 09 our unhappiness that the State Government is not going ahead with the project for setting up Public Display Systems in public places and railway and bus station for flashing information on plasma TV sets regarding missing children and other useful information and expressed regret on the government resiling from its commitment to the Court for setting up the Public Display Systems whose utility was pointed out in the orders dated 20. 5. 2008 and 8. 8. 2008. However, the police authorities concerned may file a counter affidavit to the affidavit dated 30. 3. 2009 filed by Mr. Jagriti Singh on the next date of listing. REPORT OF MEMBER SECRETARY U. P. LEGAL SERVICES AUTHORITY dated 19. 3. 2009 71. In the report the Member Secretary, UP Legal Services Authority, Lucknow dated 19. 3. 09 it is mentioned that for ensuring compliance of this Courts order for speedy disposal of cases under the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 (hereinafter referred to as "the Child Labour Act) special Lok Adalats were organised all over the state on 24. 1. 2009. The figures received from 56 District Judges show that 96 cases were settled and sum of Rs. 331,400/- was imposed as fine. The figures from 14 districts were still awaited. 72. 1. 2009. The figures received from 56 District Judges show that 96 cases were settled and sum of Rs. 331,400/- was imposed as fine. The figures from 14 districts were still awaited. 72. However, it was pointed out that in some cases Magistrates were awarding less than the prescribed minimum fine (i. e. less than Rs. 10,000) under section 14 of the Child Labour Act. A report has been called in this regard from the Labour Commissioner. We direct that the Magistrates concerned in future do not award less than the minimum fine prescribed under the Act and comply with the directions of the Legal Services Authority and that the Labour Commissioner files a compliance report to this effect on the next date of listing with intimation to the Legal Services Authority. 9 73. The report also mentions that the District Judges/district Legal Services Authority (DSSA) of 17 districts have been issued necessary instructions for disposal of cases pertaining to juveniles expeditiously and if possible within three months in compliance with the earlier order of this Court. We hope that the said District Judges shall take necessary steps and intimate this Court and the U. P. Legal Services Authority accordingly. 74. The report also annexes a letter of the Director, Women and Child Welfare dated 26. 2. 2009 to all the District Probation Officers through the District Magistrates for details regarding hearing of matters relating to children in conflict with law and children in need of special care and protection by the Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees. 75. It is pointed out that owing to failure to comply with this Courts directions and non-disposal of these matters the children who are detained in observations homes and children homes are languishing there for long periods of time. 76. 75. It is pointed out that owing to failure to comply with this Courts directions and non-disposal of these matters the children who are detained in observations homes and children homes are languishing there for long periods of time. 76. Details regarding the matters which are pending before the Juvenile Justice Boards for periods exceeding 4 months, the details about when applications for disposal of such matters were made, the year wise pendency before the JJBs, the number of cases where bails have been granted by the JJBs, the number of cases finally disposed of, the number of matters pending before the CWCs, the number of children rehabilitated by the CWCs for providing employments, the number of children handed over to their parents/guardians and the number of children who remained thereafter in the children homes, the total number of children detained in the childrens homes/observation homes up to 28. 2. 2009 (this date should now read as 24. 4. 2009, i. e. the date of the present order ). All the aforesaid informations sought may be furnished to the Director, Women and Child Welfare by all the District Probation Officers through the District Magistrates, district wise and also to this Court on the next date of listing, with intimation to the Legal Services Authority. 77. We are happy with the offer of legal aid by the Legal Services Authority to Don Bosco and Prem Niwas (Sisters of Charity) and we hope that the Secretary, High Court Legal Services Authority shall provide necessary legal aid to Don Bosco Ashralaya. We would also like Legal Services Authority to appoint a lawyer to represent the Legal Services Authority before this Bench on each date of hearing. 78. Giving of training to a few advocates by UNICEF and Ehsaas for being sensitised in these matters and for providing legal aid is also to be appreciated. 0 79. We hope the concerned Registrar at Lucknow will ensure that steps are taken at the earliest for getting the ex-parte stay order vacated/modified in Writ Petition No. 3407 (MB) of 2007 (M/s Contrywide Marketing Associates Vs. UP Upbhokta Sahkari Sangh Limited, pending before the Lucknow Bench of this Court because in view of the said ex-parte stay order dated 1. 6. 2007 weighing machines necessary for weighing the pregnant women and children are not being purchased and being made available to ICDS centres with resultant difficulties. UP Upbhokta Sahkari Sangh Limited, pending before the Lucknow Bench of this Court because in view of the said ex-parte stay order dated 1. 6. 2007 weighing machines necessary for weighing the pregnant women and children are not being purchased and being made available to ICDS centres with resultant difficulties. The concerned Registrar should inform this Court about the steps taken for getting the said stay order vacated/modified on the next date of listing. 80. Certain difficulties regarding a conflict between the Principal Judge Juvenile Justice Board, Lucknow and the Joint Director of Prosecutions has been pointed out regarding appointment of Prosecuting Officers to appear before JJBs. The letters written by the Principal Judge, Juvenile Board to the Principal Secretary (Home) dated 15. 12. 2008 and 9. 3. 2009 and the letter dated 28. 11. 2008 of the Joint Director of Prosecutions have been annexed. A piquant situation has emerged as prosecuting officers are not being provided to the Juvenile Board at Lucknow because in view of Joint Director, Prosecutions, Lucknow under the JJ Act only enquiries of a non-adversarial nature are contemplated and no trials take place before the JJBs, and according to the Joint Director, Prosecutions no role has been given to prosecuting officers under the JJ Act. Whereas according to the Judge of the Juvenile Justice Board, Lucknow there are a great number of cases of murder and dowry deaths etc. , pending before the JJBs which can only be presented before the Courts by the prosecuting officers and that refusal to do pairavi by the prosecuting officers prevents disposal of the matters by the JJBs and in many cases juveniles keep languishing in observation homes for long periods of time because of this problem. It is however pointed out by the Member Secretary, that this anomalous situation has only arisen in Lucknow and in other districts and States the Prosecuting officers are regularly appearing before JJBs for prosecuting matters relating to juveniles. We would like a resolution of this dispute by the Principal Secretary (Home) by the next date of listing and this Court may accordingly be apprised of the decision. 81. We would like a resolution of this dispute by the Principal Secretary (Home) by the next date of listing and this Court may accordingly be apprised of the decision. 81. Let copies of this order and relevant documents be sent/given by the Registry at the earliest to various parties for whom directions have been issued or notices are sought to be issued in this order, including the Chief Secretary, U. P. ; the Principal Secretary, Govt. of U. P: Labour; Primary Education; Women and Child Development; Director, Women and Child Welfare, U. P. Commissioner, Social Welfare; Director, Handicapped Welfare Member Secretary, State Legal Services Authority, Lucknow; State Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan; Director Education (Basic), U. P. ; concerned District Judges; Director General Police, U. P. , Lucknow; District Magistrate, Allahabad; Basic and Nagar Shiksha Adhikaris, Allahabad and Lucknow; Ms Usha Kiran learned A. G. A. ; Sri K. S. Shukla, Counsel for Secretary (Basic Education), U. P. ; Sri K. C. Sinha, Assistant Solicitor General, Govt. of India; Chief Standing Counsel, High Court, Lucknow Bench; Union Secretary: Ministry of Women and Child Development; Secretary: Ministry of Human Resources Development; Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF, Lucknow; the intervenor Don Bosco Ashayalam, Lucknow; the intervener Child Line Allahabad through Sri K. K. Roy, Advocate; the intervenors Bharti Chetana Sansthan, Allahabad and QIC-AC through Sri Sudeep Kumar Singh, Advocate, the intervenor Ehsaas care of Member Secretary, Legal Services, Authority, the Advocate intervenors, Jagriti Singh and Sanjeev Singh/ Sister Sheeba and the petitioner/ intervenors advocate Sri Sukhendu Pal Singh. The names of all the Advocates aforesaid be shown on the cause list on the next date of listing. 82. We have been informed by the counsel for the intervenors that the States counter affidavits to the applications/affidavits filed by the intervenors are not handed over the intervenors who have filed the applications. We direct that henceforth the learned AGA shall hand over the copy of the counter affidavits relating to the matters raised by the intervenors to the concerned intervenors or their advocates. List this case on 3. 07. 2009 for further orders and for submission of compliance reports. .