An “alarming number” of juveniles – more than 800 – were initially put in adult jails and subsequently transferred to juvenile homes during the past five years in the national capital (File/Representational) Taking note of the fact that an “alarming number” of juveniles – more than 800 – were initially put in adult jails and subsequently transferred to juvenile homes during the past five years in the national capital, the Delhi High Court is set to consider deployment of paralegal volunteers in police stations to ensure that the arrestees are apprised of their legal rights.
The division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambani will, next week, also consider the addition of certain entries in the police’s arrest memo to ensure verified age of an arrestee is recorded. The court will also consider whether more measures need to be put in place to ensure due application and compliance of the Juvenile Justice Act by the magistrates so that the arrestee, whose claim of being ‘juvenile’ is being enquired into, is housed in a place of safety in the intervening period.
“The question, therefore, is as to whether, and if so what, further directions are required from this court to streamline the process of assessing the age of an arrestee, at the very step when the person is brought to a police station,” the court said in an order.
Under the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) scheme for Para-Legal Volunteers, they can visit a police station on receiving information about the arrest of a person in the locality and ensure that the arrested person gets legal assistance in case of requirement.
While hearing a matter related to juveniles and implementation of the Act, the Delhi government submitted data disclosing that 837 children from 2016 were received from adult jails located at Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli. Those aged between 18-21 are mandatorily required to be put in a segregated manner in the adult jails, while the enquiry into the age is on. In December 2021, the court had sought the data and details regarding the children who had ended up in adult jails.
The court had in October 2020 passed directions with regard to the age verification process to be followed post arrest of juveniles. The court has set a deadline of 15 days for submission of age proof documents by the police before Juvenile Justice Boards; 15 days’ time for ossification test where it is ordered, and 15 days for completion of the process by the JJB after submission of the documents or ossification test report. All government, medical and educational authorities are required to give priority to the entire process, as per the court order.
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