LAW, ORDER AND JUSTICE

SOCIAL WELFARE DEPARTMENT

DRECTORATE OF SOCIAL WELFARE (CORRECTIONAL ADMINISTRATION WING AND NON-CORRECTIONAL WING)

Legislation.

The Bombay Children Act (LXXI of 1948); Central Provinces and Berar Children Act, 1928; Hyderabad Children Act, 1951. The Bombay Borstal Schools Act (XVIII of 1929) [The provisions of the Borstal Schools Act are implemented by the Jail Depart-] and the Bombay Probation of Offenders Act (XIX of 1938) are the enactments of social legislation, the aim of which is to protect children and to prevent young offenders and youthful adult offenders, from becoming anti-social elements. While the Children Acts deal with children below sixteen years of age, the Borstal Schools Act is applied to adolescents between 16 and 21 and the Probation of Offenders Act provides for supervision of offenders of any age, especially those between 21 and 25 and those who have not committed offences punishable with death or transportation for life. In addition the Bombay Habitual Offenders' Restriction Act (II of 1947) was passed with a view to making provision for restricting the movement of habitual offenders, for requiring them to report themselves and for placing them in settlements.

Children Act.

The Bombay Children Act consolidates all previous laws relating to the custody, protection, treatment and rehabilitation of children and youthful offenders and also for the trial of youthful offenders. It gives protection to four principal classes of children viz., (1) those who are neglected, destitute or living in immoral surroundings and those in moral danger; (2) uncontrollable children who have been reported as such by their parents, (3) children especially girls who have been used for begging and such other purposes by mercenary persons; and (4) young delinquents who either in the company or at the instigation of elderly persons or by their inability to surmount difficulties, encountered by them or by their failure to adjust themselves to the given circumstances have committed offences against the various laws of the land. Such children are taken charge of either by the police or by officers known as the Probation Officers and in most cases, are kept in Remand Homes. A Remand Home is primarily a place of safety where a child can be safely accommodated until its case is decided by the Juvenile Court. It is also a place of observation where a child's character and behaviour can be minutely observed and its needs fully provided for by wise and careful consideration. After enquiries regarding their home conditions and antecedents have been completed they are placed before special courts known as "Juvenile Courts" and dealt with according to the provisions of the Children Act. If the home conditions are found to be satisfactory and if what is needed is only restoration to their parents they are placed under the supervision of a trained Probation Officer. If the home conditions are unwholesome and uncongenial, the children are committed to institutions known as "Certified Schools" or "Fit Persons Institutions".

"Fit Person" includes any association established for the reception and protection of children. In all these schools or institutions the children receive training, according to their individual aptitudes, in carpentry,, smithy, book-binding, tailoring, agriculture, weaving, poultry-farming, goat-rearing,, gardening, etc. Youthful offenders, when implicated in any offence along with adult offenders, have to be tried separately in Juvenile Courts. The technique employed in Juvenile Courts is entirely different from that in adult courts. Penal terms are avoided, and even the word "punishment" has been dropped from the enactment in describing the treatment to be meted out to such children. The children are regarded only as victims of circumstances.

Machinery to enforce legislation.

Adolescent criminals coming under the Borstal Schools Act are sent for detention and training in the Borstal School, Kolhapur.

For the proper enforcement of the legislative enactments mentioned above, machinery both official and non-official is provided. The non-official machinery is provided by the Maharashtra State Probation and Aftercare Association, Poona, with a network of affiliated bodies called the District Probation and Aftercare Associations which are actively functioning in twenty districts of the State. These associations provide "Remand Homes" and "Aftercare Hostels" and also employ Probation Officers to make enquiries regarding the home conditions and antecedents of children as also to supervise the young persons released either directly by courts or on licence from Certified Schools and the Borstal School. As regards offenders dealt with under the Probation of Offenders Act, the work of the District Association consists of only making preliminary enquiries regarding the cases of alleged offenders referred to them and in carrying in selected areas supervision of offenders released on probation.

The official agency is now the Correctional Administration Wing of the Directorate of Social Welfare. Until 1934 the Juvenil department, as it was then known, was controlled by the Education department. From April 1934, it was attached to the Backward Class department under the control of the Home department. The Backward Class Officer was designated as the Chief Inspector of Certified Schools. In March 1946, the administration of the Bombay Beggars Act (XXIII of 1945) was added to the duties of Backward Class Officers. As the work increased and the Backward Class Officer could not devote much attention to the expansion of work under the social laws relating to children from the Juvenile Branch, the Maharashtra State Probation and Aftercare Association and the Beggars Branch were divorced from the control of the Backward Class Officer from June 1947 and these three branches were constituted into a separate department called the "Juvenile and Beggars Department" under the full-time Chief Inspector of Certified Schools and the Chief Inspector of Certified Institutions.

In 1957, Government constituted the Directorate of Social Welfare [ Government Resolution, Labour and Social Welfare Department, No. BCE-2857-D, dated 23rd September 1957.] and set up a single organisation for looking after the various social welfare activities of Government at the executive level on a co-ordinated basis. Accordingly the Backward Class department was redesignated as Social. Welfare department with effect from 15th September 1957 and took over the activities of the Juvenile and Beggars Department and other Social Welfare activities viz.. the education of the blind, deaf, dumb and mentally retarded, youth welfare, recreation and leisure-time activities (including cultural activities), matters pertaining to the State Homes, District Shelters, Reception Centres under the Moral and Social Hygiene Programme, training for and research in social work (including socio-economic surveys), coordination of social work, management of destitute homes and infirmaries for displaced persons and organisation of statistics, research and publicity in the field of social welfare. The work of issuing licences to institutions doing social welfare has also been entrusted to this Directorate under the Women's and Children's Institutions, (Licensing) Act, 1956.

All this work is being executed by this Directorate through the Divisional Social Welfare Officers at Poona, Bombay, Nagpur and Aurangabad who in turn implement the various schemes under this Directorate through the District Social Welfare Officers, Chief Officers under the Bombay Probation of Offenders Act and Probation Officers of districts under them.

The duties of Probation Officers are: —

(1) to study the children that are brought before the Juvenile Court and to submit reports regarding them to the Court suggesting a treatment programme;

(2) to supervise the children placed under their supervision

by the Juvenile Court;

(3) to conduct enquiries regarding applications received by

the Juvenile Court;

(4) to conduct the inquiries referred to the District Probation

and Aftercare Association by other institutions in respect of

children and beggars;

(5) to conduct inquiries regarding children proposed to he released on licence from different certified schools and the Borstal School, and to supervise such children as are released on licence;

(6) to conduct inquiries and supervision work under the Probation of Offenders Act; and

(7) to undertake propaganda work to further the objects of the legislation relating to children and youthful offenders.

Beggars Act.

So far as the Sangli district is concerned the Beggars Act has not yet been applied to the district. There are no institutions for beggars either run by Government or certified under the Act in the district.

Application of the Children Act and Institution under it

While part VII of the Bombay Children Act is applicable to the district, parts V and VI of the Act are applicable to the rail- way and town area 0f Miraj, the railway and town area of Madhavnagar, the town area of Budheaon and the railway area of Vishrambag and Wanleswadi railway stations.

There is a Remand Home for boys in Sangli run by the District Probation and Aftercare Association. The Remand Home is located on Sangli-Miraj Road. The District Probation and After care Association has its own building for the Remand Home for boys only. Maximum accommodation of the institution is for 80 children. There is no Certified School in district but there is a Fit Person Institution known as " Velankar Balak Mandir" (formerly known as Anath Arbhakalaya).

The number of children dealt with under the Bombay Children Act by the Juvenile Court, Sangli, sitice its inception is as follows: —

Bombay Probation of Offenders Act.

The Bombay Probation of Offenders Act, 1938 has been made applicable to the district since 1958 and a Chief Officer has been appointed for implementing the Act in the district. His headquarters are at Sangli, but he tours the district with a view to supervising the cases and to making inquiries in respect of cases referred to him by the Judicial Magistrates for investigation and report. This Act provides for the release of certain types of offenders on probation and/or supervision instead of sending them to jails. The Act provides for treatment as against undergoing the sentence, and gives an opportunity to certain offenders, especially first offenders, to improve their behaviour without the stigma of imprisonment.

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