Supreme Court orders Centre to set up special cell to prevent child labour

The Supreme Court has ordered the Central Government to constitute a special cell for the effective implementation of the provisions of the Child Labour Amendment Act, 2016. The primary objective of this cell will be to maintain continuous and strict supervision over the implementation process of the law that prohibits child labour in hazardous industries.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, a bench comprising Justice SVN Bhatti and NV Anjaria has issued important directions to the Ministry of Women and Child Development in this regard. The Court has given clear instructions to the Ministry to issue necessary guidelines and orders to various implementing agencies through the Chief Secretaries of the respective states, so as to ensure compliance with the law.

With the aim of protecting the rights of children and adolescents, the Court has ordered the second respondent to create a special cell and oversee the implementation of the law. This process will have to comply with all the provisions as per the amendments made by Act No. 35 of 2016.

In this legal battle, Advocate Prashant Bhushan and Pranav Sachdeva appeared on behalf of the NGO named 'Health for Millions'. The petition, filed in the year 2009, challenged the constitutional validity of the proviso to Section 3 of the Child Labour Act, 1986. At that time, child labour was permitted as part of family labour in workshops and in hazardous tasks such as bidi rolling in government-aided schools, which was challenged by this petition. The petitioners also demanded that the Central Government provide educational facilities as well as two-time mid-day meals to such child labourers.

During the hearing, the counsel for the Central Government informed the bench that after the amendment to the original law, the main grievances of the petitioner have been resolved, and therefore, there is no need to consider this petition further. However, the Supreme Court observed that although the specific fate of the petition may no longer stand, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure the full and strict implementation of the changes brought by the 2016 amendment. The Court emphasised that all orders, including the amended provisions of the Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986, must be complied with.

The Child Labour Amendment Act, 2016, came into effect by amending the main Child Labour Act, 1986. This law came into force from 1 September, 2016. Through this law, a complete ban was imposed on children below 14 years of age from working in all types of occupations and processes.