Government has designated eight judicial officers as principal magistrates for the Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) in Jammu and Kashmir.
In the first phase, the government has set up eight JJBs in Anantnag, Baramulla, and Srinagar districts in Kashmir division and Doda, Rajouri and Jammu districts in Jammu division. One each Juvenile Board will be set up in Kargil and Ladakh.
According to a notification issued by the government, the judicial officers appointed are: Altaf Hussain Khan (munsif Anantnag), Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi (munsif Baramulla), Parvez Iqbal (sub judge/mobile magistrate Srinagar). Meyank Gupta (3rd additional munsif Jammu), Aruri Kumar Kotwal (sub judge/mobile magistrate Rajour), Noushad Ahmad Khan (sub judge/mobile magistrate Rajouri), Spaizes Angmo (chief judicial magistrate kargil) and Tsewang Phutsog (munsif Nobra-Leh).
The notification has been issued in consultation with the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
As reported by Greater Kashmir earlier, the government in January this year had said that it will create 21 Juvenile Justice Boards in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of children) Act, 2013, government may within a period of one year from the date of the commencement of the act – by notification in the government gazette – constitute in district or a group of districts in each division of the state one or more Juvenile Justice Boards for exercising the powers and discharging the duties conferred on such boards in relation to juveniles in conflict with law.
The boards should comprise a judicial magistrate of the first class and two social workers and have the powers to deal exclusively with all proceedings under the act, related to juveniles in conflict with law.
In absence of the Juvenile Justice Boards, the chief judicial magistrate was handling the cases of juveniles.
Minister for social welfare, Sajad Lone said, “The department has worked very hard in creating these boards and we should celebrate that we have a system now, although still evolving, where rights of the children will be protected and they will be treated as children not like adults.”
The minister said, “Of the 21 Juvenile Justice Boards, 8 have been created and now the work on the other 14 will also begin.”