Shyni S, ADG of Police, CAW & CW, flags urgent need for addressing biases while dealing with children in conflict with law at the 11th foundation day celebration of Centre for Child Rights, NLUO and unveiling of its flagship Journal
The Centre for Child Rights (CCR) at National Law University Odisha (NLUO) celebrated its 11th anniversary on 11th April 2026 and unveiled its internationally indexed flagship journal – Journal on the rights of the child of national law university Odisha.
The event was presided over by Babita Patro, Chairperson, Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR). She emphasized on the importance of addressing mental health and digital safety of children in Odisha. She underscored the need to engage directly with children in their lived environments to understand the challenges they face and to develop orders, directives, and policies that respond effectively to these realities.
Other dignitaries present in the event were Shyni S, IPS, Additional Director General of Police, Odisha (Crime Against Women and Children Wing), Subhendu Bhattacharjee, Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange, Child Rights and You (CRY); Prof Ved Kumari, the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal on the Rights of the Child of National Law University Odisha and former Vice Chancellor of NLUO, Prof Rangin Pallav Tripathy, Vice Chancellor (I/C), NLUO and Patron-in-Chief, CCR-NLUO; Prof Biraj Swain, Chief Minister’s Chair Professor cum Director of Centre for Child Rights (CCR), NLUO.
Shyni S, IPS, ADGP, CAW & CW underlined the class and caste bias in dealing with children in conflict with law (CiCL), and called for self-awareness amongst child protection cadre (state and non-state) for self-awareness of inherent prejudices while handling such cases and sensitivity, keeping best interest of the child in mind, while dealing with such cases. Raising concerns about gaps in the implementation of legal frameworks, she pointed to the lack of clarity around diversion under the Juvenile Justice system and questioned certain procedural practices. She further emphasized the need to rethink approaches toward adolescents, particularly in sensitive contexts, and highlighted the importance of making law enforcement systems more child-friendly to reduce fear among children.
Beyond Just Juvenile Justice
Speaking of the event, Prof Rangin Pallav Tripathy talked about the importance of not just starting an initiative but sustaining and strengthening them over time, despite changes in leadership and vision and highlighted that the CCR of NLUO is one such Centre.
Prof Ved Kumari envisioned the Chair professorship on Child Rights, the only Chair Professorship on Child Rights in the country with a focus on the entire spectrum/continuum of child rights and not just juvenile justice. She also acknowledged the support of Odisha government that is supporting not just the position of a Chair Professor but a multi-member team including two researchers and administrative support. She described the centre’s progress as “nothing short of a miracle” amidst high expectations and recalled how timely decisions and institutional support played a key role in shaping the initiative. She also emphasized the importance of integrating the Centre’s work with academic life of NLUO rather than the CCR functioning as a parallel entity without engagement with students and the university.
Subhendu Bhattacharjee shared that Child Rights and You (CRY) focus and interventions in 22 states and 150 districts in the country, focusing on last-mile delivery. He further shared that they see a lot of value in engaging with academic institutions where buddying lawyers and journalists are being prepared to build their perspective around child rights.
Infographic on Child Budget
The publication of the Journal on the Rights of the Child Volume VII, Issue I, marks a significant step forward in the academic and practical pursuit of child rights in India. By combining rigorous research with lived experiences, it serves as a valuable resource for practitioners, scholars, policy makers, advocates and the judiciary. The Editorial Advisory Board of the journal Justice Madan B Lokur, Justice Gita Mittal, Prof Bernd-Dieter Meier, Prof Christopher Birbeck, and Prof Bhabani Prasad Panda. The Editorial Board led by Prof Ved Kumari (Editor in Chief), Prof Biraj Swain (Editor), Prof Ravinder Barn, Dr Frederick de Moll, Dr Damanjit Sandhu, Dr Asha Bajpai, and Dr Kalpana Purushothaman who ensure the quality, integrity and inter-disciplinary depth of the publication.
The Journal on the Rights of the Child of National Law University Odisha, Vol -VII, Issue -I brings together 11 original contributions from across the country. The volume includes the Presidential address by Justice Savitri Ratho, Judge, Orissa High Court and Chairperson – Juvenile Justice Committee, Orissa High Court and papers on juvenile justice jurisprudence, right to education, new education policy, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO, 2012), and mental health. It also includes an infographic on child budget in Union Budget analysis with fact sheet. It is an open access journal, it can be accessed at – https://nluo.ac.in/journal-on-the-rights-of-the-child/.
Oldest Centre of NLUO
The event was attended by representatives from government officials, Dr Santosh Rout, Joint Director, Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA), Dept of School and Mass Education, Pritikanta Panda – Programme Manager, Odisha State Child Protection Society (OSCPS), Pragati Mohanty, District Child Protection Officer-Cuttack, and Pamod Acharya, former Chairperson – CWC, Cuttack. Dr Sandhya Rani Pal from XIM University and Udit Narayan Mishra from KIIT School of Law also were present in the event. Eminent representatives from important civil society organizations present were Dr Avijeet Bhadra from Bal Raksha Bharat, Pratyush Panda from Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), Sneha Mishra from AIINA, Bishakha Bhanja from National Alliance for Women’s Organisation (NAWO), Mr. Anwoya Avinab from Utkal Sevak Samaj, Jitendra Kumar Nayak from WaterAid, Smt Biraj Laxmi Sarangi from PCI Global, Ms Virajitha Chimalapathi from World Resources Institute, Pradyut R Rout from PLAN International-India and selected student members of CCR i.e. Avismrita, Suraj, Kashish, Sushant, Akshat, Amit, Ashwani, Shahnaaz, Jyotirmay, Subhadra and students, staff and faculty of NLUO.
The Centre for Child Rights is the oldest centre of NLUO, the second oldest child rights centre at any NLU, and the only Chair Professorship on child rights amongst any university in the country, law and non-law included. It is a research, teaching, advocacy and practise centre and fully integrated with NLUO. The Centre is led by the Chief Minister’s Chair Professor cum Director Prof Biraj Swain. Other faculty and staff members of the CCR are Mr M Vijay Bhaskar (Co-Director), Ms Akanksha Yadav (Co-Director), Dr Swagatika Samal (Researcher), Dr Pradipta Kumar Sarangi (Researcher), Mr Amulya Kumar Swain (Office Assistant) and Mr T Swaraaj (Member).
The 11th anniversary celebration event of CCR was organised in collaboration with the leading child rights organisation – Child Rights and You (CRY) and the State Bank of India was the sponsorship partner.
