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| DB terms govt report on Juvenile Justices Boards unsatisfactory | | Seeks fresh compliance report within 3 weeks | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Feb 3: A division bench of the high court has directed government to file within three weeks fresh compliance report regarding the constitution of Juvenile Justices Boards in the state.
"Compliance report filed Commissioner Secretary Social Welfare Department does not satisfy the directions issued by the Court on last date of hearing," a division bench of the court comprising Justices M H Attar and Justice A M Magrey said.
Additional advocate general of the state, M A Rathore, sought three weeks time for filing fresh compliance report which was granted by the bench.
The Juvenile Justice Board comprise a Judicial Magistrate of the First Class to be appointed by the High Court and be designated Principal Magistrates and two social workers as members of whom at least one shall be a woman, to be appointed by the Government on the recommendation of the Committee constituted under rules 79 and 80 of these rules.
In the compliance report, the commissioner secretary of the SWD had stated the nomination of Judicial Magistrate of First Class is not within his competence and accordingly vide a letter (No SW/lit/27/2015) dated 14-12-2015, the law department has been requested to approach high court for the appointment of judicial Magistrate as Principal Magistrate for the for the appointment of the purpose of discharging of duties of Chairman of Juvenile Justice Board as envisaged in the act/rules.
The commissioner secretary said that the effectuation of the Juvenile Justice Acts and Rules is linked with the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). "The scheme has already been formulated and draft scheme sent to General Administration for their advice with to certain features of scheme relating to Staff and manpower," the officer said.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by one Tanvi Ahuja, a resident of Haryana, alleging that thousands of juveniles had been arrested over the years under the Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, (PSA) and the Ranbir Penal Code (equivalent to the IPC) instead of being tried under the State Juvenile Justice Act, 2013. "These juveniles have been treated as adults, beaten, and put in jails, contrary to the numerous decisions of the Supreme Court holding that no juvenile should ever be put in a jail...(and)...ought to be held in juvenile-friendly institutions," the petitioner said.
The petitioner cited an RTI reply of March 2014 from the state home department which revealed that 707 FIRs had been filed against juveniles since 1988.
Ahuja's petition said that besides the PSA, the juveniles were booked under various other provisions - which include serious charges like rioting and attempt to murder - and sent to jail without proper trial.
She has prayed direction to the government to implement the provisions of Jammu & Kashmir Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act 2013, to submit details of the cases pending in all the courts against the juvenile offenders including the details of the juveniles lodged in different jails of the state and give rehabilitation pacakage to the children whose cases have not been decided within the stipulated period as per the Act.
Meanwhile the division bench directed Director Social Welfare Department, Jammu, to file an affidavit indicating about the diet menu which is being provided to the juveniles who are lodged in the juvenile homes.
"The Director will also provide information about the other requirements such as clothing, bedding which are being provided to the juveniles," the court said, adding, "Director Social Welfare shall also file an affidavit providing same details in respect of the Valley. |
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