Prohibition (Amendment) Act of 1986 and, in particular, on the number of dowry deaths before and after the enactment of such legislation; on the effeativeness to date of the Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act and of the amendment6 to the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure an8 other legislation relating to arranged marriage, child marriage and divorce) and on the activities undertaken by the Child Welfare Boards established pursuant to the Children Act. Information was also sought on the impact on the right of equality before the law of some provisions of Hindu or Muslim personal law under which polygamy was tolerated or of the laws allowing different treatment of the sex86 as to the causes for clivorce. 303. In his reply, the representative of the State party said that the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act provided for the prevention of the commission of sati, and made glorification of it, through any ceremony, procession or function, an offence. Special courts to try sati-related offences were to be created, and responcibility for implementing the provisions of the Act lay with the state governments and Union Territory administrations. No case of commission of sati had, however, been reported since the passage of the Act. 304. An offence committed under the Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act of 1996 was non-bailable and the Criminal Law (Second Amendlment) Act had been amentied to deal effectively not only with cases of dowry death but also with cruelty to married women. A section had also been added ta the Indian Penal Code with a view to pravicing protection to women and discouraging atrocities and of committing dowry death was cruelty against them. Anyone found guilty subjected to punishment by imprisonment for from seven years to life. The problem of offences against women wae a 6aurce of serious concern for the Government and needed to be addressed in a broader social Framework; through their full integration and participation in national development. India's difficulty in reaching the goal of equality was more a social than a law enforcement problem. 305. Child marriage, in spite of the prohibition of such practice by law, was deeply entrenched in certain sections of Indian society, an13the Government had taken steps to educate the people about its consequences. Furthermore, the Chilcl Labour (Prohibition an8 Regulation) Act prohibited the employment of children under the age of 14 in certain haeartious occupations and provided for the regulation of their conditions of work in all other jobs. The Government had a national policy on child labour to rehabilitate chilclren withdrawn from prohibitea employment and to provide education, health care and other services for working children. Cases under the Juvenile Justice Act were to be brought : speedily before Juvenile Welfare Boards and the juvenile was to be sent to an observation home or place of safety during the inquiry unless he was staying i with his parents or a guardian, 1 4 $ 5 $ ;$ y With regard ta that issue , members of the Committee requested clarification of the statement in the report that "the reference to ethnic minority does not apply to Indian society"; and of the functions prnd activities of the Minorities Commission. They also asked whether there were any special factors and difficulties in the effective enjoyment by minorities of their rights under the CovenaYlt. 306. -75-