Kerala Children Act, 1972

No: 3 Dated: Mar, 09 1973

THE KERALA CHILDREN ACT, 1972

(Act 3 of 1973)

    An Act to provide for the care, protection, maintenance, welfare, training, education and rehabilitation of neglected or delinquent children and for the trail of delinquent children in the State of Kerala

    Preamble:- WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the care, protection, maintenance, welfare, training, education and rehabilitation of neglected or delinquent children and for the trail of delinquent children in the State of Kerala ,

BE It enacted in the Twenty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows . -

CHAPTER I

Preliminary

1. Short title, extent and commencement:-(1) This Act may be called the Kerala Children Act, 1972.

(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act or for different areas of the State.

2. Definitions:- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

( a) ''authorised person" means a person authorised by the Government under sub-section (1) of section 12,

(b) "begging" means)

(i) soliciting or receiving alms in a public place or entering on any private premises for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms, whether under the pretence of singing, dancing, fortune-telling, performing tricks or selling articles or otherwise , or 

(ii) exposing or exhibiting with the object of obtaining or extorting alms any sore, wound, injury, deformity or disease, whether of himself or of any other person or of an animal , or

(iii) allowing onself to be used as an exhibit for the purpose of soliciting or receiving alms;

(c) "brothel", "prostitute", "prostitution'' and "pulic place" shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Supression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956 (Central Act 104 of 1956),

(d) "chlld" means a boy who has not attained the age of sixteen years or a girl who has not attained the age of eigtheen years and when used with reference to a child sent to a children's home or special school applies to that child during the whole period of the stay, notwithstanding that during the period of such stay, the child may have attained the above age limit;

(e) "children's court" means a court constituted under section 4;

(f) "children's home'' means an institution established or certified by the Government under section 8 as a children's home,

(g) "competent authority" means a children's court and includes in respect of any area for which no children's court has been constituted any Magistrate empowered under subsection (2) of section 6 to exercise the powers conferred on a children's court by or under this Act;

(h) "dangerous drug" shall have the meaning assigned to it in the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930 (Central Act 2 of 1930),

(i) "delinquent child" means a child who has been found to have committed an offence;

(j) "guardian", in relation to a child, includes any person who, in the opinion of the competent authority having cognizance of any proceeding in relation to a child, has, for the time being, the actual charge of, or control over, that child,