HUMAN RIGHTS LAW NETWORK

GUWAHATI CHAPTER

INTERNSHIP REPORT

PERIOD: 1ST July, 2009 31st December 2009

SUBMITTED BY:

FARHANA YASMIN

COLLEGE: J.B. LAW COLLEGE.

1
INTRODUCTION:

Frequent violation of Human Rights in the whole world encourages me to study the
subject like Law. Human Rights is the birth right of every human being. And
violation of these rights is punishable .Being a law student and an intern at HRLN, I
want to protect and fight for the rights of the needy, poor and vulnerable people.
Children are the assets of our nation. But in most of the times child rights are
violated .They are deprived of their basic human rights. Children are innocent and
immature, they cannot speak and fight for their own rights .So, and it is the duty of
an adult person to help in getting justice.

To protect child rights various Acts has been made from time to time such as, Child
Labour Prohibition And Regulation Act 1986,Children Act 1960 ,Child Marriage
Restraint Act 1929,The Employment of Children Act 1968, Juvenile Justice (Care
And Protection o0f Children) Act 2000 ,Factories Act 1948 etc.

Article 21(A) and Article 45 of Indian Constitution speaks about the Right to
education. Article 23 speaks about Right against Exploitation. This Article prohibits
traffic in human beings and forced labour as well as bonded labour .Article 24
speaks about the prohibition of employment of children in factories.

Human Rights Law Network, Guwahati Chapter, is very active in the area of child
rights, both in spreading legal awareness on the issue as well as in providing legal
aid. Some of the interventions, in which I was actively involved, are mentioned
below:

CONSULTATION :

1. Babul Das: Babul Das is a resident of Narengi, Gauhati. He brought an issue

of child labour harassment to H.R.L.N, Guwahati. The case was relating to a minor
girl aged about ten years who was working as a maid servant in the house of Mr.
Mohan Malakar. She was being regularly tortured by her employer and his wife.

Advice given:
We informed Babul Das about the provisions of the Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Act, 1986 in which under section 14 it is provided that whoever
employs any child or permits any child to work in contravention of the provisions of
section 3 shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less
than three months but which may extend to one year or with fine which shall not be
2
less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend to twenty thousand rupees or
with both. We also advised him to approach Childline, Gauhati which rescues such
victims and send them to shelter homes and assured him of any further help.

2. Phulmati Begum: Phulmati Begum is the mother of a minor girl named

Sukiran Begum, aged about 12 years. Some Ajagar Ali took the minor girl with the
consent of the mother to Delhi. Later when Phulmati Begum enquired after 10/15
days at the house of Ajagar Ali in Sarabhati, she found the house locked and the
neighbours informed that they had left the house and went to village of Ajagar Ali.
Phulmati Begum than went to village at Bandikhena Salmara in Dhubri District to
find her daughter but instead the family of Ajagar Ali said that they married her off
but did not give any further information .No trace of the victim has been found as
yet.
Advice given ;
We advised the mother of the victim to file an FIR regarding the incident in the
nearest police station. We assured her of any kind of legal assistance in following up
the case.

3. Idrish Ali and Jamir Ali: Md Idrish Ali (father of Ayejul Ali) and Jamir Ali,
(resident of Kahilipara, Guwahati) came to Childline Guwahati seeking help to
rescue their children from being illegally confined as security guards (employed by
ASTHA placement agency). The Childline team brought the victims guardians
Idrish Ali and Jamir Ali to HRLN Guwahati for help.
Advice given;
We advised the aggrieved to bring their children back as both the victims were
below the age of 18 years. According to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000 no children below the age of 18 years can be allowed to work in
between 7pm to 8am and we assured any kind of legal assistance on due process.
Accordingly they were able to rescue their children.

WORKSHOP/ SEMINAR ATTENDED:

a) Workshop on JUVENILE JUSTICE(Care and Protection of Children)

Act,2000
The workshop was organized by Directorate of Social Welfare Department,
Government of Assam in the premises of National Institute of Rural Development,
Khanapara, Guwahati on 7th of July 2009. The workshop was attended by officers
from various Govt. Departments, Police officials, N G O representatives and Social
activists. Provisions of The Juvenile Justice Act 2000, its implementation, status of
juvenile justice in Assam and problems of implementation of the Act were
elaborately discussed in the workshop.

3
Findings; In this workshop it was revealed that a good number of juveniles are
engaged in petty cases .A few juveniles were also found to be engaged in serious
criminal offences .The duty of police personnel role of media under Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of Children) Act, of 2000 was also discussed. The needs of
quick disposal of juvenile cases were also discussed in the workshop.

b) Childrens day;
14th November is celebrated as Childrens Day in India. Childline (an
organization which rescues child victim and send them to shelter home) Guwahati
celebrated the occasion this year through a two day workshop in Sonaram Higher
Secondary School Field for the street children and the inmates of the
shelter/Childrens Home of greater Guwahati. Around 500 street children
participated in this workshop. Various activities like running race, extempore speech,
recitation, painting competition, dance competition etc. were organized for them
.The workshop was attended by members of Child Welfare Committee and media
personnel.

Findings: The purpose of the workshop was to give exposure to the hidden talent
among the street children .To know about their feelings a drawing competition was
conducted for them .The importance of right to education as provided under Article
21 of the constitution and Article 45 of the directive principles of the state polices
were also discussed. The main purpose of the workshop was to give importance to
all round development of the street children.

(c)Focus Group Discussion on Domestic Child Labour Scenery in Guwahati

city:

This workshop was held on 8.12.2009 in BOSCO REACH-OUT,Ulubari. The

workshop was organized by sSTEP(Society for Social Transformation and
Environment Protection) .The purpose of the workshop was to find out the general
scenario and living condition of the children who are working as domestic help in
Guwahati. The workshop laid importance on the fact that there should be
collaboration among various individuals and groups from varied background for
sensitization, prevention, rescue and rehabilitation .A short presentation was put
forward by Mr.Mustafa spokesperson representing National Child Labour Project
(NCLP) and by Mr. Aniruddha Kulkarni from UNICEF.

4
Findings: This workshop focus on the children who are working as a domestic
help .From this discussion we got to know that above 5.5 lakh children in Assam
working as domestic help particularly in the urban areas. The majority of them are
girls hailing from economically backward sections of the population. The reason
behind is the illiteracy and lack of awareness among the masses .People are unaware
of the rules and regulations .Those who employ children for domestic labour are
depriving them of all their rights particularly their fundamental right to education
.Employing children in domestic services is economic exploitation of children,
which is a violation of their right to protect from economic exploitation. Child
labour is many a time accompanied by child abuse in its worst forms and by health
risks. The Child Labour(Prohibition and Regulation ) Act , 1986 amended in 2006
adds in Part A of Schedule 1 under the heading occupation employment of a child
as domestic worker or servant . This indicates that domestic help is a hazardous
occupation, disturbing a childs growth and development. Violation of the ban
invites imprisonment up to two years and or fine of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000.

5
To create awareness among the masses about the situation of the domestic labour in
Guwahati was the main purpose of the workshop.

( d) Workshop on Media for Child Rights:

This workshop was held from 22nd-24th December, 2009 at hotel Pragati
Manor Christianbasti which was organized by UNICEF.The workshop centered
around medias duty towards child rights. The three day workshop was presented
mainly by Miss Anju Uppal and Mr.Prabir Bose of Media Matters, Mumbai.Students
from the faculty of mass communication of Gauhati and Dibrugarh
University,Central IT College Guwahati, various correspondents from various
newspapers and few government officials were active participants.

Findings: This workshop was organized to inform about the child rights among the
people. The fundamental rights like right to education rights against exploitation
were briefly discussed. The workshop focused on the basic issue of right to food.
The government agencies for the efforts through the Sarva Siksha Abhijan and
National Child Labour Policy to combat the menace of child labour through
education were also briefly discussed.

PRESS MEET ATTENDED:

Besides these workshop and seminar I have attended one Press Meet on
Juvenile Offences and Juvenile Justice Delivery System on 7th October, 2009 which
was organized by Snehalaya in Don-Bosco. Anju Talukdar co-ordinator of HRLN
Guwahati was present as a panelist. A book on study of Juvenile Offences in Kamrup
District, Assam, by Lita Hazarika, guest faculty Gauhati University was released.

I have attended a discussion on Child Labour and related issues and problems
organized by Childline as a Resource Person.

CASES:

A )Rubi Mukhia Vs Sanjoy Simon.

Case no.: 2407/9

Fact of the case;

Rubi Mukhia a child aged around 13 years, she had been working as a domestic help
in the house of Mr. Sanjoy Simon. She used to be regularly sexually harassed and

6
abused by the accused. When the child reported the matter to Mrs. Simon she was
asked to keep silent about the matter and also subjected to physical abuse. The case
was referred to HRLN by Childline Guwahati . The Childline reported to the Child
Welfare Committee (CWC). After hearing the matter, the CWC disposed of the case
by imposing a fine of Rs.20, 000 on the employer (accused) for the offence of sexual
harassment. Another Rs. 5,000 was also imposed against the monthly salary that was
due to the child as a domestic help and travel expenses of the mother of the child.
The accused promptly paid the total amount of Rs. 25,000.00
As justice had clearly not been done in the case, and the accused had got away with
a fine of just Rs. 25,000.00 for the serious offence of rape of a minor girl, Childline
approached e HRLN Guwahati to intervene. HRLN Guwahati gave an application
to the Social Welfare Department ,Kamrup, to meet the victim as she was lodged in
the Childrens Home at Jalukbari. After getting permission HRLN Guwahati team
went to Childrens Home , Jalukbari, along with Childline, to meet the victim i.e.
the minor girl We filed a case in Special District Judicial Magistrate 1, SDJM(1) and
got the order for investigation by All Women Police Station Pan Bazar .
Status of the case; A case was registered in All Women Police Station i.e.
Case no.51/09 P.S. The accused was arrested and spent many days in jail as bail was
refused in view of the gravity of the crime. The matter is pending trial.

B) Momina Begum Vs. Liakat Ali. Case no.2906/09(Crl.)

Fact of the case;

The petition is on behalf of a minor girl Sultana Begum who was the
victim of rape committed by three young men. The guardian complained about the
kidnapping and rape of the minor child to the police, who later called them to the
police station for identification of the victim. The guardian was made to wait outside
the police station and the police in the meantime physically assaulted the victim
inside the police station.
The mother of the victim has been harassed, threatened and was made to
suppress the case against the police. After a year she came to know that no criminal
case has been filed against the accused police. Having no hope and seeking justice
for her minor girl she came to HRLN Guwahati. Here we helped her to file a
criminal case against the accused and the police.
Relevant provisions of law:
Under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) punishment for rape is defined.
376.Punishment for rape :whoever ,except in the cases provided for by sub-section
(2),commits rape shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which shall not be less than seven years , but which may be for life ,or for a
term which may extend to ten years ,and shall also be liable to fine unless the
woman raped is his own wife and is not under twelve years of age ,in which case he

7
shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may
extend to two years or with fine or with both.
Under section 377 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) unnatural offences is defined.
Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man,
woman or animal, shall be punished with (imprisonment for life), or with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and
shall also be liable to fine.

Status of the case;

The accused appeared before the Honble Court and got bail on payment of
Rs.5000. The case is pending before the court of Special District Judicial Magistrate
(II) (SDJM-II).

C) State of Assam vs Rajimuddin Ahmed .

Case No: 1035/09
Court: Judicial Magistrate First class.

Fact of the case:

Salma Sultana a nine year old girl a student of Jolah Borola Bari Madrasa
was sexually abused by her teacher named Rajimuddin at 8.30 am. while she was
going to fetch milk. Following the incident the victims father accompanied by local
club members lodged a FIR in the local police station. The accused obtained bail
.The case is pending before this Honble court.
The father of the victim along with the local club members came to HRLN
Guwahati for seeking help against this injustice .We gave him the moral support and
assured for legal help. The HRLN Guwahati team went the victims house ,North
Guwahati to meet the minor girl and the local people .Initially the minor girl was
nervous but later she was friendly to us .
Relevant provisions of law:
Under section 17 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)
Act, 2000 speaks about the punishment for cruelty to juvenile or child .Section 23
makes provision for punishment for cruelty to juvenile or child under the said
section. Any person having the actual of or control over, a juvenile or the child is
punishable, if such person assaults, abandons, exposes or willfully neglects the
juvenile or child or procures or causes mental or physical suffering to such juvenile
or the child, such person will be liable to be punished with imprisonment for a
maximum period of six months or with both.

8
 Under section 354 of Indian Penal Code, Assault or criminal force to
woman with intent to outrage her modesty is defined. Whoever assaults or uses
criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he
will thereby outrage her modesty, shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine, or with both.
Section 354, Indian Penal Code has been enacted with a view to protect a woman
against indecent assault as well as to safeguard public morality and decent behaviour
or with fine, or with both.

Status of the case:

Now the accused had been suspended from his post for six months. The case has
been filed u/s 354 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) under the jurisdiction of the Rangia
Police Station where the victim resides.
The case is pending before the Honble Court of Judicial Magistrate 1st class.

C) State of Assam vs Apurva Das.

Case no.349/09
Fact of the case;

Apurba Das is a juvenile who has been convicted of murder. The Juvenile
Apurba Das was playing with his friends at his premises at the time of the incident.
The deceased was the neighbour of the juvenile. The deceased came in a drunken
state and slapped the juvenile without any reason. Because of this unusual behaviour
of the deceased the juvenile kicked him in his stomach. Suddenly the deceased fell
down on the ground and died immediately. Since the day when the unfortunate
incident occurred as the accused was a juvenile.
We prayed to the Honble District and Sessions Judge that the accused is a
juvenile. But the prayer of us was not taken into consideration by the Sessions Court,
so we moved the High Court. The Honble High Court directed the District and
Sessions Judge to identify the plea of juvenility of Apurba Das first and then

Relevant provisions of law:

Provisions of Juvenile Justice (care and Protection of Children)Act,2000 regarding
Juvenile Justice Board in relation to a juvenile in conflict with law .Under section
1(l) of the said Act juvenile in conflict with law means a juvenile who is alleged to
have committed an offence. Under section 4 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children )Act,2000 a Juvenile Justice Board to be set up in every
district with a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class and
two social workers of which at least one must be woman forming a bench. Under
section 8 no juvenile should be tried by any other court or be kept in police or jail

9
custody but must be kept in an Observation Home set up by or with the permission
of the State Government. Under section 16 of the said Act said that no juvenile shall
be sentenced to death or imprisonment for any term which may extend to
imprisonment for life, or committed to prison in default of payment of fine or in
default of furnishing security.

Status of the case:

As the accused is a juvenile, the High Court directed that the first stage
will be the examination of the juvenility and then go for trial under the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000; no punishment is given to a
juvenile for any crime committed but is send to a shelter home and rehabilitation
after conviction.

The above discussion highlights all my activities in which I was involved as an

intern from July 1st to December 1st 2009.

10