Supreme Court seeks report on alleged illegal detention of children in valley

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court sought a report from the juvenile justice committee of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on the alleged detention of children in Kashmir during the ongoing lockdown, ignoring the Centre’s claims that only one juvenile was arrested and later handed over to the juvenile justice board.

The court was acting on a petition filed by children rights activists Enakshi Ganguly and Shanta Sinha, chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, on the plight of children in J&K. The committee will have to report to the court within a week, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said on Friday, in the first significant intervention by the court in recent days in the issues affecting J&K since the abrogation of special status granted to the erstwhile state and its bifurcation into two union territories on August 5. So far, the court had restricted itself to allowing those wishing to visit the state to go and check on their friends and relatives, with the rider that they desist from undertaking political activity of any sort.

The petition, filed by advocate Sumita Hazarika, has among other things sought release of the children if any who have been picked up by security forces on suspicion of being potential stone-pelters, detention only on orders of a magistrate and compensation for those injured in action taken by security forces.


The court had earlier indicated that it would later deal with all substantial issues arising out of the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir and the allegations of the communication, movement and travel curbs affecting human rights of residents adversely. On Friday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that only one child had been detained in the state and that he had since been handed over to the juvenile justice board when his age came to light, suggesting that it may have been a one-off case involving detention of children. The CJI, however, brushed aside Mehta’s objections to seek a report on the matter. The law mandates a parallel reformatory mechanism for children in conflict with the law. They cannot be detained “illegally”, he said. Nor can they be kept in police stations or jails and would have to be dealt with by boards which will keep their identities secret and also counsel them if need be to cope with their problems, said the bench, which also comprised justices SA Bobde and SA Nazeer.

They will be kept in special homes as opposed to jails even if convicted, it said.