Officials must ensure protection of children, says KSCPCR chief

Chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights K. Naganna Gowda, along with members, reviewing child protection measures in Ballari on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Ensuring the safety and protection of children is the foremost duty of all government officials, said chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) K. Naganna Gowda.

He was speaking at a district-level progress review meeting at the Nazir Saab Hall of the Zilla Panchayat in Ballari on Wednesday.

The meeting focused on the implementation of the Right to Education Act (RTE) 2009, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (PoCSO) Act 2012 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015.

The session was attended by commission members, officials from various departments at the district and taluk levels and heads of childcare institutions.

Discussions centred on child-related programmes and their implementation status.

Mr. Gowda stressed that all departments working in the field of child welfare must function in coordination to protect children’s rights and to bring them into the mainstream.

He emphasised the importance of collaborative action in ensuring that children receive the protection and care they deserve.

Presenting data during the meeting, Child Protection Officer from the District Child Protection Unit Elenagappa said that between April 2024 and March 2025, a total of 123 child marriage cases have been prevented in the district.

Of these, 11 actually took place and First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed in all the 11 cases, he said.

In the period between April and May 2025, 45 cases of child marriage attempts have been recorded, while 11 have occurred. FIRs have been registered in four of those cases.

Responding to the report, Mr. Gowda directed that whenever incidents of child marriage are identified, the authorities concerned must immediately visit the homes of the boy and girl involved.

“The officers should engage in meaningful counselling with parents, obtain a written undertaking and clearly inform them that marriage should only be conducted after the child turns 18. Officials from the local gram panchayat, including the Panchayat Development Officer, the Tahsildar, Executive Officers, and representatives from the Education, Health, Police and Child Protection departments must work together in these matters,” he said, directing the officials to file FIRs without any delay in cases where child marriage has occurred.

Published - June 19, 2025 07:37 pm IST