18th October 2022; Alliance University Legal Services Clinic, Alliance school of law, Alliance University had organised a visit to Echo Centre of Juvenile Justice-Juvenile detention centre in Bengaluru, Karnataka which is the first NGO which was formed as a juvenile detention centre in Karnataka. Students from Alliance university legal service clinic (AULSC) in collaboration with Pratishta- Women and child cell an affiliation of AULSC had an interactive session with the members of the juvenile detention centre regarding the works done by them and their collaborations with the government.

“The 1973 Code of Criminal Procedure confines the juvenile court's jurisdiction to youth under 16 years of age who have committed offenses not punishable by death or life imprisonment. The Central Children Act of 1960 has a broader definition of delinquency and extends the age to 18 for girls”. Rev. Fr. Antony Sebastian, founder of the Echo Centre for Juvenile Justice is also an advocate.

He was member of Juvenile Justice Board for two consecutive years. The objectives of establishing this centre were to reform children by providing counselling, education, behaviour modification therapy and to give them a perspective of a dignified life. The members of the Echo Centre illuminated about the various branches of their organisation which work on different aspects for the welfare of juveniles.

• The Echo Sparsha centre works on mentoring children below the age of 14 years.
• The National Child Labour Project (NCLP) programme is a preventive scheme which aims to drastically reduce child labour in the society.
• The Echo Navodaya centre aims at providing support for the girl child.
• The Echo Spandana centre focuses on transformation of the child below 14 years of age.
• The Ration Programme was an initiative introduced as an incentive for families of juveniles to integrate the children back into the system. It was highly appreciated by both, the central and state governments.
• The Echo Hotel Management Programme was introduced as an attempt to bring normalcy back into the lives of the juveniles. It aimed to bring a sense of dignity into their lives in order to fight the stigma and for it to be easier for them to integrate back into the society.

Mrs. Anne Josephine addressed us about the Special Juvenile Police Unit. According to Section 107 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1) All police officers under this unit shall be provided with special training, especially at induction as child welfare police officers, to enable them to perform their functions more effectively, 2) This unit also includes Railway police dealing with children. She also mentioned a ‘Rehabilitation Programme’ which aids regarding job placements to the juveniles. Mr. Sam, a member of the organisation illustrated that the aim of the centre is to rehab, reform and prevent. The tagline quoted was, “Transforming law breakers into law enforcers” It was a very informative session and it gave vivid perspectives to a sensitive topic like juveniles. It helped instil a sense of reformation in our minds. It helped us understand that everyone needs to be given a second chance. Because, if we are never given a chance, we will never know if we are capable of change. We learnt that that positive change is possible and all that was really needed, was for us to believe. Believe that change is possible.