NEW DELHI: Division Bench of the Supreme Court of India Wednesday directed the counsel for Jammu and Kashmir Government to file counter reply to the writ petition of 7th class Kashmiri student Faizan Ahmed, held in a Srinagar jail for last one year, within three weeks.
The writ was filed by senior advocate Prof Bhim Sing through State Legal Aid Committee against illegal arrest and trial by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in August last year.
The bench comprised of Justice R.M. Lodha and Shiva Kirti Singh.
Appearing for the minor, Prof Bhim Singh strongly protested that, In spite of the Supreme Court direction on July 22, 2013 to the State of J&K to justify the detention and trial of Faizan within four weeks, the State Government utterly failed to file the counter reply in the Supreme Court.
Singh urged upon the Supreme Court to take appropriate action against the administration and the police for committing a heinous offence and violating the Law in regard to the Juvenile.
The court noted that it will make an appropriate order even regarding the compensation as prayed in the petition.
Prof Bhim Singh submitted that, In 1986, Government of India enacted the Juvenile Justice Act. Since then, it has been amended on several occasions while the State of Jammu & Kashmir continues to follow the archaic legislation.
He submitted that J&K is the only state where there is no Juvenile Welfare Board, no Juvenile Courts, and no system to handle the juveniles during the disturbances. He made a strong plea that several school going children have been put in jails, terrorized and tortured by the State government on one pretext or the other. He urged upon the court to direct the State counsel for J&K to submit the entire list of the minors detained by the Government of J&K in the police stations or in the jails.
He said the Act of 1997 in this regard has not been made up-to-date or amended by the Government of J&K.
Prof Bhim Singh said that Juvenile Homes or the police stations manned and supervised by the police are lacking facilities which are provided in the Juvenile Act of the Parliament of India. The case shall be listed three weeks after.
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