The police have handed over the boy, who was held in Jammu grenade attack that claimed two lives and left 31 people injured, to the Juvenile Justice Board (Jammu) after tests declared him a minor.
Chairperson, selection-cum-oversight committee (SCOC), anapex body for monitoring and evaluation of the Juvenile Justice Act, JusticeHasnain Masoodi, said, “The police have handed over the custody of the juvenileto JJB Jammu and they will soon shift him to an observation home at RS Pora.”
In violation of the JJ Act, the police had named the minorand held him in custody for more than 24hours.
According to the Juvenile Justice Act, “As soon as ajuvenile in conflict with law is apprehended by the police, he shall be placedunder the charge of the special juvenile police unit or the designated policeofficer who shall produce the juvenile before the board without any loss oftime, but within a period of 24 hours of his apprehension, excluding the timenecessary for the journey, from the place where the juvenile was apprehended,to the board.”
The Act further says, “Provided that in no case, a juvenilein conflict with law shall be placed in a police lock-up or lodged in a jail.”
As far as disclosing the identity of the juvenile isconcerned, the Act says: “No report in any newspaper, magazine, newssheet orvisual media of any inquiry regarding a juvenile in conflict with law or achild in need of care and protection under the Act shall the name, address orschool or any other particulars calculated to lead to the identification of thejuvenile or child nor shall any picture of any such juvenile or child bepublished.”
The child right activists had also registered their protestsagainst the violation of the JJ Act in this case.