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Section 45: Sponsorship

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

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Section 44 All 112 Sections of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 Section 46

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 45

Section 45 of the Act provides for the sponsorship of children, empowering the State Government to provide financial assistance to biological families, single mothers, and foster parents to prevent child abandonment due to extreme poverty.

  • Preventative Financial Child Support Architecture: Provides monthly financial grants to impoverished biological families to cover children's school fees, nutrition, and healthcare, eliminating poverty-induced institutionalization.
  • Targeted Vulnerable Beneficiary Categories: Prioritizes children of widows, single mothers, incarcerated parents, terminal patients, and children affected by natural disasters.
  • Conditional Cash Transfer Framework: Conditions continued sponsorship payments on regular school attendance, health check-ups, and immunization, promoting positive developmental outcomes.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Sampurna Behura v. Union of India (2018) 4 SCC 433: Supreme Court highlighted that sponsorship under Section 45 is a powerful preventive mechanism that keeps families united, ordering States to establish dedicated sponsorship funds.
  • In Re: Exploitation of Children in Orphanages (2017) 7 SCC 578: Supreme Court held that no child should be forced into an orphanage solely because of parental poverty; sponsorship must bridge economic gaps.
  • People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India (1982) 3 SCC 235: Affirmed the state's positive constitutional duty to support impoverished families to prevent child labor and institutionalization.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

When a destitute mother appears before the CWC seeking to place her child in an orphanage due to financial destitution, advocate for Section 45 sponsorship; the CWC can immediately sanction monthly sponsorship support, keeping the child in the family home.

Section 44 All 112 Sections of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 Section 46