Delhi HC asks authorities to inspect juvenile homes, report

The Delhi High Court today directed authorities to inspect juvenile homes in the national capital and report back any deficiencies in the facilities and their solutions.
A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar directed the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) and Public Works Department of the Delhi government to ensure physical inspection of the observation homes, also known as a juvenile detention centres.
It said that they should report back any deficiencies in facilities and their solutions.
The bench also sought to know if there was any child protection scheme available under the Delhi government.

The bench has now fixed the matter for hearing on January 30.
Last year, the court had expressed anguish over deficiencies in these remand homes due to lack of infrastructure.

The court had made the observation while taking cognisance on its own of a media report that referred to an inspection of a juvenile home here by a DCPCR team which had received reports of drug and sexual abuse at the facility.
According to the media report, the DCPCR team had inspected Prayas Children's home for boys in Jahangirpuri in north-Delhi on December 9, 2017, where it found rat-infested kitchens, dirty toilets with no doors or soaps, and complaints of physical torture.

Recently, some children had fled from the juvenile home.