Child Rights and Legislation (RTE, POCSO, JJ Act)

About this chapter

Child Rights and Legislation is a high-yield CDP topic for CTET Paper I. The chapter opens with the question 'Who is a child?' and shows that different Indian laws fix different age limits — Census of India 14 years, IPC 1860 Section 83 sets age of criminal responsibility at 7 (12 for a child of unsound mind), the Indian Constitution Article 21A protects ages 6–14, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986 marks 14 years, and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 uses 18. It builds the four basic rights — Survival, Development, Participation and Protection — and the constitutional frame (Article 39(f), Article 21A, Part III and Part IV). It then explains the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009 (Article 21A in force from 1 April 2010, 25% reservation for disadvantaged groups, no detention, no admission test, NCPCR monitoring), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 (child = below 18, NCPCR + POCSO Rules 2012 monitoring), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989, UNICEF, WHO, NCPCR (formed March 2007) and NHRC (constituted 12 October 1993). The four tests — Practice 15, Quiz 15, Hard 15, Mastery 30 — cover all these acts, dates and articles at CTET depth and difficulty.