23. In this Part the expression “voluntary home” means any home or other institution for the boarding, care and maintenance of children not being a registered school or recognized medical institution and not being carried on by, or on behalf of, the Director.
24.-(1) After the expiration of three months from the date of the commencement of this Law no voluntary home shall be carried on unless it is registered under this Law in a register to be kept for this purpose by the Director.
(2) Application for registration under this section shall be made by the persons carrying on or intending to carry on the home to which the application relates and shall be made in such a manner and accompanied by such particulars as may be prescribed by Regulations.
(3) On an application duly made under subsection (2)-
(a) if the home to which the application relates was at the commencement of this Law open for the reception of children the application shall be granted;
(b) in any other case the Director may either grant or refuse the application as he thinks fit but where he refuses the application he shall give the applicant notice in writing of the refusal.
(4) Where at any time after the expiration of three months from the date of the commencement of this Law it appears to the Director that the conduct of any voluntary home is not in accordance with Regulations made or directions given under section 26 or is otherwise unsatisfactory he may, after giving to the persons carrying on the home not less than thirty days notice in writing of his proposal so to do, remove the home from the register.
(5) Any person who carries on a voluntary home in contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding .250 and to a further fine not exceeding .25 in respect of each day during which the offence continues after conviction.
(6) Where-
(a) a voluntary home is carried on in contravention of the provisions of subsection (1); or
(b) notice of a proposal to remove a voluntary home from the register is given under subsection (4),
the Director may be required on the authority of the Governor to remove forthwith from the home and receive into his care under section 3 all or any of the children for whom accommodation is being provided in the home notwithstanding that the time for any appeal under section 25 has not expired or that such an appeal is pending.
For the purpose of carrying out the duty of the Director under this subsection any person authorized by him may enter any premises in which the home in question is being carried on.
(7) Any notice under this section required to be given by the Director to the persons carrying on or intending to carry on a voluntary home may be given to those persons by being delivered personally to any one of them or being sent by post in a registered letter to them or any one of them.
25.-(1) Where under section 24 application for the registration of a voluntary home is refused or it is proposed to remove a voluntary home from the register, the persons intending to carry on or carrying on the home, as the case may be, may within fourteen days from the giving of the notice under subsection (3) or subsection (4) of that section appeal against the refusal or proposal; and where the appeal is brought against a proposal to remove a home from the register the home shall not be removed therefrom before the determination of the appeal.
(2) An appeal under this section shall be brought by notice in writing addressed to the Director requiring him to refer the refusal or proposal to the Court within the District in which the voluntary home is situated.
(3) On an appeal under this section the Court may confirm the refusal or proposal of the Director or may direct that the home shall be registered or, as the case may be, shall not be removed from the register and the Director shall comply with any direction of the Court.
26.-(1) The Governor may make Regulations as to the registration and the conduct of voluntary homes and for securing the welfare of the children therein and Regulations under this section may in particular-
(a) prescribe anything which is required or permitted under this Part to be prescribed;
(b) impose requirements as to the accommodation and equipment to be provided in homes, authorize the Director to give directions prohibiting the provision for children in any home of clothing of any description specified in the directions and impose requirements as to the medical arrangements to be made for protecting the health of the children in the homes;
(c) require the furnishing to the Director of information as to the facilities provided for the parents or guardians of children in the home to visit and communicate with the children and authorize the Director to give directions as to the provisions of such facilities;
(d) authorize the Director to give directions limiting the number of children who may at any one time be accommodated in a particular home;
(e) provide for consultation with the Director as to applicants for appointment to the charge of a home and empower the Director to prohibit the appointment of any particular applicant therefor except in the cases (if any) in which the Regulations dispense with such consultation by reason that the person to be appointed possesses such qualifications as may be prescribed by the Regulations;
(f) require notice to be given to the Director of any change of the person in charge of the home; and
(g) impose requirements as to the facilities which are to be given for children to receive a religious upbringing appropriate to the persuasion to which they belong,
and may contain different provisions for different descriptions of homes.
(2) Where any Regulation under this section provides that this subsection shall have effect in relation thereto, any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the Regulation or any requirement or direction thereunder shall be liable to a fine not exceeding .250.
27. Where it comes to the knowledge of the Director that there is a child over twelve years of age who at the time when he ceased to be of that age or at any subsequent time was but is no longer-
(a) in the care of the Director under section 3; or
(b) in the care of a voluntary organization,
then, unless the Director is satisfied that the welfare of the child does not require it, he shall be under a duty so long as the child has not attained the age of eighteen years to advise and befriend him:
Provided that if the Director is satisfied that the voluntary organization has the facilities for advising and befriending the child then he may make arrangements for the voluntary organization to do this.