The chairman of Uttarakhand Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Ajay Setia, inspected the Pauri district jail in view of Delhi High Court decision and after taking information of juvenile criminals, he found that four children are locked up in this jail.
The juvenile prisioners including one from Khatsyun and three from Kotdwar. Stating that juvenile criminals being locked up in the district jail is a serious matter which raises questions at the functioning of the District Judge and police. Setia said that 15 inmates in Dehradun jail were found to be juvenile and their cases should be processed in the Juvenile Justice Board.
Setia said that the Supreme Court is taking serious cognisance of juvenile criminals. He said that State legal Service Authority had been formed to monitoring juvenile crimes. In Uttarakhand the High Court chief justice has been given the responsibility of the State legal Service Authority chairman while the district judge and secretary to chief judicial magistrate have been handed the powers of the District legal service authority chairman.
In a meeting organised in the Pauri circuit house on Friday, Setia said that the report on juvenile criminals will be sent to the State legal service authority and instructed the police personnel to ensure that juvenile criminals are produced in the Juvenile Court to facilitate strict observance of the Juvenile Justice Act.
There is one juvenile observation home each in Haridwar, Dehradun and Almora while eight juvenile reformation centres have been established in the State. With the State government giving its consent, one observation home and one juvenile reformation centre will be opened in each district, he added.