SrinagarThe Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday was informed that a meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary on the establishment of Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees in the state has been scheduled for Wednesday.
As the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation started before Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmad and Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey, counsel for Hashim Hussain, who was required to inform the court today about the establishment of JJBs, informed the meeting was scheduled to be held on September 27.
The court adjourned the matter and directed the counsel to place the minutes of the meeting before the court on next date.
The division bench has already clarified that as per J&K Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act , it was for the state government to fulfil the requirement and setup the Juvenile Justices Boards across the state. The PIL was initiated by Tanvi Ahuja, a Haryana based human rights activist, who has since passed away. Consequently, the title of the PIL has now been altered to Court on its own motion v. State of Jammu and Kashmir and others.
The court had directed the government to constitute the JJBs by 28 December 2015, observing that the purpose of enacting Juvenile Justice Act in the state stands frustrated due non-compliance of the legislation.
One of the essential purpose of legislating laws is to reintegrate the children who are in conflict with laws and who need care and protection within society, the court had observed and directed the government to comply with provisions of the Act.
The state enacted the Act in 2013 and as per its Chapter-II, the Juvenile Justice Board shall consist of 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, one of whom must be a woman.
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