The document discusses several key Indian public health laws related to children's health. It provides an overview of laws such as the Preconception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act (prohibiting sex selection), Infant Milk Substitutes Act (regulating infant formula), Child Labor Act (regulating child labor), Juvenile Justice Act (related to juvenile justice system), Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, Children Act, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. It also discusses features, provisions, and penalties associated with these important acts. Finally, it outlines some common problems with implementing public health laws in India and suggested approaches to address these issues.

1. BY: NAVIN.K AND AKHIL T.V.
MODERATOR: Dr. M.MADHUSUDAN
CHILD HEALTH RELATED PUBLIC HEALTH
LAWS

2. INTRODUCTION
 The core of public health depends on law and
science.The law has to prohibit individual who create
the situation for others suffering.
 The public health actions are not intended to punish,
but to improve and to monitor the health status in the
community.

3. • Law :-The principles and regulations established in
a community by some authority and applicable to its
people, whether in the form of legal powers or of
customs and policies recognized and enforced by
judicial decision.
• Legislation:-Process or act of making law by the
legislative body or governing body in country.
• Bill:- Draft statute which becomes law after it is
passed by both the Houses of Parliament and
assented to by the President. All legislative
proposals are brought before Parliament in the

4.  Act :-A law adopted (enacted) by a national or
state legislative or other governing body.
 Rules :-Are explicit statements that tell an
employee what he or she ought or ought not to do.

5. CHILD RELATED LAWS
1) The Preconception Prenatal Diagnostic
Techniques (Prohibition of sex selection)
Act,1994.
2) The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and
Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply
and Distribution) Act 1992
3) The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act
1986
4) The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
children)Act 2000
5) The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006
6) The Children Act , 1960
7) The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
Act 2012

6. The Preconception And Prenatal
Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition Of Sex
Selection) Act,1994
 Aim :-Prohibition of sex selection, before or
after conception. Regulation of the use of
prenatal diagnostic techniques
 Provisions :-No genetic counselling centre,
genetic clinic or medical geneticist,
gynaecologist or registered medical
practitioner shall conduct such test unless
specified by the Central Supervisory Board at
a place other than a place registered under
the Act.

7. In following conditions these test can be
conducted in a pregnant woman :-
• Age above 35 years;
• Undergone two or more spontaneous
abortions or fetal loss;
• Exposed to potentially teratogenic agents
Family history of mental retardation or physical
deformities such as spasticity or any other
genetic diseases; and any other disease
specified by the Central Supervisory Board.

8.  No test will be conducted on the willingness of
husband or without written informed consent of
the woman.
 Even any advertisement or publication on these
facilities is an offense.
 No person shall sell ultrasound or any other
machine or equipment capable of detecting sex
of the fetus to any person or centre that is not
registered under the act.

9. First Offence Subsequent
Offence
Service Provider Imprisonment
(3yrs)
penalty Rs 10,000
Registration
cancelled for 5yrs
Imprisonment
(5yrs.);
penalty
(Rs.50000);
registration
cancelled
(permanently.)
Service Seeker Imprisonment(3yr
s); penalty Rs
50,000
Imprisonment (5
yrs.);
penalty (Rs.
100000);
Advertiser Imprisonment
(3yrs) penalty (Rs
Lifelong
Imprisonment

11. The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles And
Infant Foods (Regulation Of Production, Supply
&Distribution) Act, 1992
 Aim :- protection and promotion of breast feeding
and ensuring the proper use of Infant Foods.
 Provisions :- No person shall
 advertise,
 take part in promotion of use or sale, supply
of or donate or distribute infant milk
substitutes or feeding bottles, or
 give an impression or create a belief in any
manner that feeding of infant milk substitutes
is equivalent to or better than mother's milk.

12. IMS ACT,1992
 Container of infant foods and milk substitutes
must affix label clearly written in local language
that
"Mother's milk is best for your baby"
"Should be used only on the advice of a health
worker
and "a warning sign if used replacing mother's
milk".
 No picture of baby or mother shall be depicted
on the containers.
 Beside this all about manufacturing date,
batch number, expiry date, compositions, etc.

13. The IMS ACT,1992
 All educational material whether audio, or visual
shall contain the content of benefits and
superiority of breast feeding.
 No person other than health workers or
institutions will demonstrate the need and feeding
of milk substitute.
 Food inspector working under Prevention of Food
Adulteration Act or any authorised person shall be
responsible for inspection or seizing activities if
he/she finds that there is violation of this Act.

14. Penalty
Imprisonme
nt
Fine
Violation of act by
any person
Upto 3 years,
or
Upto 5000 Rs.
or
with both
Label on container or
quality of infant milk
substitute, feeding
bottle and infant food
6 month- 3
years
and
at least
Rs.2000.

15. The Child Labor (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act 1986
 The Act came in force from 23rd December,
1986.
 Child labour is the practice of having
children engage in economic activity, on
part or full-time basis. The practice deprives
children of their childhood, and is harmful to
their physical and mental development.

16.  Poverty, lack of good schools and
growth of informal economy are
considered as the important causes of
child labour in India.
 Objective: To prohibit the engagement of
children in certain employment’s. To
regulate the condition of work of children in
certain other employment’s.

18. This is how child labour affects the
nation-

19. Main features of this act are-
 No child shall be required or permitted to work in
any establishment in excess of such number of
hours as may be prescribed for such establishment.
 No period shall exceed 3 hours before he has had
an interval for rest for at least 1 hour.
 The period of work of a child shall be so arranged
that inclusive of his interval for rest, under sub-
section, it shall not be spread over more than six
hours, including the time spent in waiting for work
on any day.

20.  No child shall be required or permitted to work
overtime.
 Every child employed in an establishment shall
be allowed in each week, a holiday of one
whole day.
 Children are not permitted to work in occupations
concerned with passengers and goods mail
transport by railway, carpet weaving, cement
manufacturing, cleaning ash pits, and building
construction operation, cloth printing, dyeing,
explosives and fireworks, beedi making, wool

21. Penalty
 Whoever employs any child in contravention of this
act shall be punished with imprisonment for a term
which shall not be less than 3 months but which
may extend to 1 year
OR
 Fine which shall not be less than Rs 10,000 but
which may extend to Rs 20,000 or with both.
 Whoever fails to giver notice to Inspector; Fails to
maintain register or makes entries; Fails to display
notice Fails to comply with or contravenes any
other provisions of this Act or rules, Shall be
punished with simple imprisonment which may
extend to 1 month or with fine which may

22. The Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of children) Act 2000
 State primary responsibility of ensuring that
all the needs of children are met and that their
basic human rights are fully protected
 The Convention on the Right of child lays
down four sets of rights:-
 The Right to Survival
 The Right to Protection
 The Right to Development
 The Right to Participation

23. Features of this act-
 Primary law for children in India.
 It defines a juvenile/child as a person below the
age of 18 years.
 Rehabilitation and social reintegration are the
primary aims of the Act.
 To create a separate system of justice –
dispensation .
 Distinct from criminal justice system for adults.
 Effective involvement of informal social
arrangements – family, community.
 Child friendly juvenile justice system .

24.  This Act places children/juveniles in two categories
:
1. Juvenile in ‘conflict with the law’ handled by
State Governments/ ‘Juvenile Boards’
2. Child in need of ‘care and protection’ to be
looked after by State Governments/ ‘Child Welfare
Committees’
 An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating
to juveniles in conflict with law
Protection and treatment
Child-friendly approach.

25.  JUVENILE JUSTICE BOARD :
Appointed by the State Government.
Panel of -
1. Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate
of the first class.
2. Two social workers of whom at least one shall
be a women.
 Magistrate to have special knowledge or
training in child psychology or child
 Inquiry to be completed within 4 months

26. Order that may be passed regarding juvenile.-
 Counsel parents/ guardian;
 Advise the child: by group counselling
and similar activities
 Payment of fine, (>14 yrs age)
 Release on probation of good conduct,
and place under care of parent/
guardian or other fit person or fit
institution.
 Direct the juvenile to be sent to a

27. Order that may not be passed against
juvenile:
 Juvenile Cannot be sentenced to
death/life imprisonment/committed to
prison.
 Cannot be charged with/tried for offence
with an adult.
 Prohibition of publication of name, etc.,
of juvenile involved in any proceeding.

28. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act
2006
Prevalence of child marriage (below 18 years) in
India is 47% , However it is high as 75% in
Nigar,72% in China, 41% in Nepal and all are
developing and low income countries.
Child marriage is associated with high maternal
and child mortality, malnutrition, anemia, poor
growth of the baby.
An act to provide for the prohibition of
solemnization of child marriages has been enacted.
The child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 is hereby

29. The duty of the Child Marriage Prohibition Officer
mainly is ..
 To prevent solemnization of child marriages by
taking such action as he may deem fit
 To collect evidence for the effective prosecution
of persons contravening the provisions of this
act
 To advise either individual cases or counsel the
residents of the locality general not to indulge in
promoting,helping,aiding or allowing the
solemnization of child marriages

30.  To create awareness of the evil which results
from child marriages
 To sensitize the community on the issue of
child marriages
 To furnish such periodical returns and
statistics as the state government may direct
 To discharge such other functions and duties
as may be assigned to him by the state
government

32. The Children Act , 1960
 A child is a young human being below the age of
14 years.
The Children Act was passed by the Indian
parliament in December 1960 to provide for the care
, protection , maintenance , welfare , training ,
education and rehabilitation of neglected or
delinquent children and for the trial of delinquent
children in union territories.
This act may be regarded as a model piece of
legislation for the whole country.

33. The act provides for two agencies viz. the child
welfare board to deal with neglected children and
the children's court for delinquent children , in fact
the composition and functions of both these
agencies are the same as that of the juvenile court
in other parts of the world.
The aforesaid board and the court comprise a
chairman and other members.
The members must posses special knowledge of
Child psychology.
No other magistrate shall try the cases of
neglected and delinquent children but shall transfer
the same to the above authorities.

34. The legal procedures as prescribed in this
act are :
 A Board or Court should sit in a building or room
different from the usual court or on different days
and time .
 The proceedings will be attended by competent
authority, parties to the inquiry, the parent or
guardian of the child or such other persons as the
court may permit.
 The court may remove any person from attending
the proceedings including police officers, legal
practitioners, the guardin and the child himself.

35.  The court has the power to send a child to a
relative or a fit person, living outside the
jurisdiction of the court.
 All reports during the course of the inquiry
shall be deemed as confidential.
 The Board or the Court has the power to
amend any order as to the institution to which
a child is to be sent and the person under
whose care or supervision a child is to be
placed.

36. The Children Act 1960 provides for the following
correctional institutions for the children :
 Observation Homes are centers for the reception
of children during the pendency of inquiry , Under
this the children will have all facilities of
accomodation , maintainence and facilities for
education.
 Children's Homes are meant for the reception of
neglected children only , where
accomodation,maintainence and facilities for
education and development of character and
training for protection against moral danger and

37.  Special Schools are for delinquent children
only , where these schools give all things what
children's home gives plus necessary training
to the child leading to his reformation is given.
 After Care Organisation is meant for the
care of the child on release from a children's
home or special schools with a view to
enabling him/her to lead an honest,industrious
and useful life.

38. The Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act 2012 (POCSO Act)
 This act has been drafted to strengthen the legal
provisions for the protection of children from
sexual abuse and exploitation.
 Sexual offences are currently covered under
different sections of IPC.The IPC does not
provide for all types of sexual offences against
children and more importantly does not
distinguish between adult and child victims.
 This act defines a child as any person below the
age of 18 years and provides protection to all
children under the age of 18 years from the
offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment
and pornography.

39. Punishments for offences covered in the Act
are :
 Penetrative sexual assault (Sec 3)-not less
than 7 years which may extend to
imprisonment for life and fine (Sec 4).
 Aggravated penetrative sexual assault (Sec
5)-not less than 10 years which may extend
to imprisonment for life and fine (Sec 6).
 Sexual assault (Sec 7)-not less than 3 years
which may extend to 5 years and fine (Sec
8).

40.  Aggravated sexual assault (Sec 9)-not less
than 5 years which may extend to 7 years
and fine (Sec10)
 Sexual harassment of the child (Sec 11)-3
years and fine (Sec 12)
 Use of child for pornographic purposes
(Sec 13)-5 years and fine and in the event
of subsequent conviction, 7 years and fine
(Sec14 (1) ).

41. for reporting, recoding of evidence,
investigation and trial of offences . These
mainly includes :
 Recording the statement of the child at the
residence of the child or at the place of his choice,
preferably by a women police officer not below the
rank of sub inspector.
 No child to be detained in the police station in the
night for any reason
 Police officer to not be in uniform while recording
the statement of the child.
 The statement of the child to be recorded as
spoken by the child
 Assistance of an interpreter or translator or an

43. Problems with Public health laws
 Lack of awareness
 Social aspects
 Implementation problem
 Improper reporting
 Long time is taken in prosecution
 Practical problem :- Like in case of PC &
PNDT Act, it is difficult to get proof for
determination of sex because only mother
and person performing the techniques knows
if sex determination has been done and none

44.  Widespread corruption
 Problems of antiquity, inconsistency,
redundancy, and ambiguity rendering these
laws ineffective, or even counter
productive, in advancing the population’s
health.
 Complex language of Acts

45. SUGGESTED APPROCHES
 An approach to rectify these problems in
public health law should reform laws so that
they confirm with modern scientific and
legal standards and more uniformly
addressed different health threats.
 In this regard, it is desirable to develop a
public health law programme designed to
improve the scientific understanding of the
interaction between law and public health
and to strengthen the legal foundation for
public health practice.

46. REFERENCES
 Park’s Textbook of Preventive and Social
Medicine (25th Edition)
 Kishore J. National Health Programs of India.
National Policies and legislations Related to
Health. 12th edition. New Delhi.
 Govt. of India. The infant milk substitutes, feeding
bottles and infant food (Regulation of Production,
Supply & Distribution) Act 1992 (No. 41 of 1992).
 The pre-natal diagnostic techniques (Regulation
and prevention of misuse) act, 1994 (57 OF
1994) Amendment act, 2002 (No.14 of 2003)