Guwahati: The state govt has apprised the Gauhati High Court that the draft Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules is currently in the legislative department and once it is vetted, the rules will be placed before the cabinet for approval, while draft Child Protection Policy is pending with the judicial department, reports Mukut Das.The court directed the state govt to complete the process by the end of Feb. The court, while taking 70 cases as the benchmark, noted that the pendency of cases in Juvenile Justice Boards is higher in 11 districts — Barpeta, Biswanath, Bongaigaon, Cachar, Dhubri, Goalpara, Hojai, Kamrup Metro, Lakhimpur, Nagaon and South Salmara.The state govt has submitted before the court that the draft rules were sent to the legislative department on July 23 last year. “After multiple rounds of clarifications and returning the file for annexures on Oct 15, 2025, the file remains with the legislative department. Once vetted, the Rules will be placed before the Cabinet for approval,” the order copy reads.As far as the draft Child Protection Policy is concerned, the state govt submitted that it was sent to the judicial department for views, which has sought certain clarifications, which are currently being processed.After pursuing the submission, the court of Justice Kalyan Rai Surana and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury said, “The state shall provide information regarding the status of the notification of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules. We hope and trust that the authorities, including the legislative department, will complete the process at the shortest possible time, preferably by Feb 28.”
