The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Tuesday granted three weeks’ time to the state government to file a fresh affidavit regarding the constitution of the Juvenile Justice Board and asked the state chief secretary to appear in person if the government failed to file the affidavit on the due date. The High Court expressed concern over the delay in the formation of the Juvenile Justice Board and said that further delay would not be tolerated. The court was dealing with a PIL filed by a citizen seeking implementation of J&K Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) of 2013.
Earlier, the Commissioner Secretary Social Welfare Department, instead of informing the court about the constitution of the Juvenile Justice Board, said that he was not competent under law to do so and asked the Law Department to approach the High Court in the matter. The High Court rejected this plea of the government and has asked for the compliance of the earlier court’s order on the next date of hearing.
The government has informed the court that under the provisions of the Act, they have formulated the draft scheme and have sent it to the General Administration Deprtment for seeking their advice on various features of the scheme.
The court, however, did not entertain this plea of the government.
The court in its earlier direction had told the government to comply with provisions of the Juvenile Act and provide support to juveniles if they are lodged in juvenile homes.