NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a response from the government on the allocation of funds to the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in a couple of years including the amount which has been disbursed till now.
A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani were dealing with a criminal reference wherein questions of law were placed by a Principal Magistrate of a JJB, concerning the circumstances when a child in conflict with the law also happens to be a child in need of care and protection.
While hearing the matter, the court pulled up the state government saying that it has not been doing anything for children in conflict with the law. “Introduce liberal arts to the children, why only vocation training. You give them options,” the court said.
It further asked for a response on the time frame for setting up of JJB in all the districts of the national capital. The court also questioned the government as to how much money it had raised for the board.
“Any society has to be judged on how it takes care of its children. If we are unable to take care of our children, then God help us. CCTVs are helping. It’s not only a deterrent but also works as an aid,” the
court said. The bench also focused on the issue of the production of juveniles and expressed its concern overstay of such juveniles at observation homes.