MEETING REPORT – CORE COMMITTEE MEETING FOR DEVELOPMENT OF MODULE FOR JUDICIARY IN COLLABORATION WITH

IJTR/UPSLSA/Vatsalya/Plan India

Type of Meeting: Meeting with Representatives of IJTR/UPSLSA/Vatsalya

Date of Meeting: 14th March, 2013 Time of Meeting: 2:30 PM to 4:15 PM

Venue: Institute of Judicial Training & Research, Vineet Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow

Names of Participants: Dr. Neelam Singh, Mr. A.P. Mishra, Mr. R.P. Tripathi, Ms. Namrata Sehgal

Name of person writing the report: Ms. Namrata Sehgal

MEETING AGENDA

1.  Confirmation of the Minutes of 2nd Meeting held on 10th January, 2013
2.  Appraisal on Progress made in the Interim Period
3.  Discussion on Role of IJTR/UPSLSA re: conducting supervision for drafting Module and its field testing
4.  Role of IJTR/Vatsalya re: development of SoP (Technical/Financial Proposal)
5.  Discussion re: Format of Module, Methodology, Language, Content
6.  Formulating future strategy/Action Plan

DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS

1)  The meeting commenced with the active participation of Mr. A.P. Mishra (Institute of Judicial Training & Research, Lucknow), Mr. R.P. Tripathi (UPSLSA), Dr. Neelam Singh (Chief Functionary, Vatsalya) & Ms. Namrata Sehgal (Vatsalya)

2)  Dr. Neelam Singh revisited the minutes of the 2nd meeting of the Core Committee held on 10th January, 2013 and reacquainted the partakers about the purpose of the meeting:

a.  A broad overview of the progress made since the commencement of this process of development of Module on PCPNDT Act for Judiciary

b.  Reaching a consensus on the candidate selected & recruited for the post of Consultant for coordination, documentation & drafting of the module

c.  Reassessing the names of persons for being a part of the Core Committee/Research Pool

d.  Formulating a tentative blueprint for the Draft Module with regard to its contents

e.  Role of various agencies (IJTR/UPSLSA/Plan India/Vatsalya) in the construction of concept & process

3)  Selection & recruitment of a Consultant for coordination, documentation & drafting of the module:

a.  Dr. Neelam Singh shared with the other members that after an interview process, Ms. Namrata Sehgal had been selected and recruited for the position of Consultant for development of Module on PCPNDT Act for Judiciary

b.  Consensus was reached on this development as both Mr. Mishra and Mr. Tripathi agreed to it, having already been shared with Ms. Debjani Khan (Plan India) via email dated 5th March, 2013

4)  Suggestions were made for more people to be added to the Core Committee for it to become more extensive and inclusive. It was decided that the Core Committee should reflect cross-learning and for that people from various fields need to be involved in the process like HoD/Active faculty of Sociology Department (Lucknow University), Health Department Officials, Retired Officers from Judiciary/Academia. Specifically, the name of Mr. Padman Singh, Former DG (Law & Order) was put forward for his involvement during the drafting phase of the Module looking to his extensive experience in implementation of law and the challenges that are often faced. It was decided that invitation would be extended to Mr. Singh for his participation and if his consent is obtained, his presence would be welcome during the next meeting

5)  As was decided in the previous meeting, the Module (Full Version) would span six to six and a half hours while the Condensed Version would be covered in two hours. Mr. Mishra insisted that the Module be drafted in a session-wise manner and in lecture mode which was agreed upon by Mr. Tripathi & Dr. Singh. Mr. Mishra also suggested that resource material (brochure/booklet on PCPNDT Act) be compiled before the field testing phase for dissemination amongst the participants

6)  The Content List (Chapter-wise) was finalized and is as follows:

S. No. / Topic / Supervisory Responsibility
1. / Background of the Problem
-  Daughter abhorrence
-  Son preference in a patriarchal setup
-  Advancement & misuse of technology / Dr. Neelam Singh
2. / Consequences of Declining Child Sex Ratio
-  Socio-demographic impact
-  Cultural impact
-  Increasing violence & crimes against women
-  Impact on health / Dr. Neelam Singh
3. / Declining Child Sex Ratio – Situation Analysis in Uttar Pradesh / Dr. Neelam Singh
4. / Genesis & Evolution of PCPNDT Act
Includes enabling provisions in other Acts as well / Mr. R.P. Tripathi
5. / Registration under PCPNDT Act / Mr. R.P. Tripathi
6. / Offences & Violations under PCPNDT Act / Mr. R.P. Tripathi
7. / Penalties & Punishments under PCPNDT Act / Mr. R.P. Tripathi
8. / Bodies constituted under PCPNDT Act / Mr. R.P. Tripathi
9. / Procedure to be followed
-  Cognizance
-  Inquiry & Investigation
-  Trial & Sentence / Mr. A.P. Mishra
10. / Brief Overview of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971
-  Salient Provisions
-  Comparison with PCPNDT Act / Dr. Neelam Singh
11. / Status of Implementation of PCPNDT Act in Uttar Pradesh
-  Challenges & Gaps
-  Strategy for addressing challenges / Dr. Neelam Singh
12. / Landmark Judgments on PCPNDT Act / Mr. A.P. Mishra
13. / Annexures
-  Case Studies
-  Tools (PPTs, Card Games, etc.) / Dr. Neelam Singh

7)  Following Action Points were finalized:

S. No. / Task / Responsibility Of / Timeline
1. / 1st Draft of module to be shared / Ms. Namrata Sehgal / April 17th, 2013

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

17th April, 2013

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