SC issues notice to Centre, others on plea regarding condition of 'tormented minors' kept in prison

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the state legislatures of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in connection with the welfare and conditions under which 'tormented minors' are kept in the prison.

The notice was moved after amicus curiae Aparna Bhat asked thoughtfulness regarding the way where Uttar Pradesh and Delhi police have kept and tormented minors in the police station.

The bench consisting Justices Deepak Gupta and Anirudha Bose heard the issue and schedule it for hearing on March 6.

On 5 December 2018, the Supreme Court had directed the central government to systematise the procedure of information assortment of children in organisations and to guarantee that customary reports are produced which add to the assurance of the privileges of youngsters.

On February 7, Bhat had recorded an application in the apex court, in light of certain media reports, that some minors were confined and denied medicinal consideration by the Delhi Police, in the Daryaganj Police Station the evening of December 20, 2019, during the counter CAA protest.

After Supreme directions, she said in her application, "Children are reported to have been treated poorly in many child care institutions across the country and the government has till date not given her a copy of the aforementioned report, even though more than 14 months have passed since the directions."

It is claimed that the Uttar Pradesh Police had likewise confined and attacked stranded understudies matured around 14-21 years from the Saadat Hostel-cum-Orphanage in Muzaffarnagar.

In her application, Bhat mentioned that it is apparent that there is no concern for the rights of children and that it is, in fact, state entities such as the police which are in flagrant violation of the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, 2015 as well as the orders of the top court in the present petition.

"In these circumstances, it is humbly prayed that investigation of reports of children being detained in Police Stations in violation of the provisions of the JJ Act, 2015 be handed over to a centralised agency like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and reports be filed before the Supreme Court for monitoring. There is also a need to have a parallel process of protection of the children so that they do not get further affected during the course of the investigation," she said in her application.

Bhat said the central government must also indicate the steps they have taken to comply with the directions issued on December 5, 2018, by the apex court.