Jamshedpur, Sept. 8: From next week, juvenile offenders need not go to the district courts for hearing, handcuffed by police.
Jharkhand High Court has issued directives to make functional the juvenile courts in remand homes, which have now been rechristened observation homes, in all districts of the state at earliest.
At least seven juvenile courts will be established across the state. ?The juvenile offenders need not be escorted to the district courts for the hearings. The seven observation homes situated at Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Dhanbad, West Singhbhum, East Singhbhum, Dumka and Deoghar would soon house juvenile courts on the same premises. A team of three members including the chairman (necessarily a judicial magistrate) would hear the cases related to juvenile offences,? said registrar-general R.R. Prasad.
A training camp was held from September 3 to September 6 for the members of juvenile justice board at the Administrative Training Institute (ATI)?s judicial academy.
Then Jharkhand Chief Justice Altamas Kabir had also dwelt at length on the provisions made for juvenile offenders under the Jharkhand Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2003.
Officials at the government?s social welfare department said the district where there exist no observation homes will be tagged with the other near by districts, where there already exists an observation home.
East Singhbhum district executive magistrate Ranjana Mishra informed that the modalities of a juvenile justice board had been worked out. District judicial magistrate Kusum Kumari will chair the board while two other non-government organisation representatives, Shampa Das and Shahnaz Rafi, would serve as members.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2003, promulgates that police officials should not use handcuffs and fetters while dealing with the juvenile offenders (who are in conflict with the law).
The police officers are ought to be in plainclothes except at the time of arrest. Every probation/observation home shall follow a schedule of orientation for the newly-admitted juvenile covering aspects like health, sanitation, hygiene, self-improvement opportunities and responsibilities.
A case history of the juvenile shall be maintained which may contain information regarding the socio-cultural and economic background collected through home, parents or guardians, employer, school friends and community. The juvenile may be allowed to go on leave and stay with his family during examination or emergencies.
