Srinagar, Oct 9: Supreme Court Judge, Justice S Ravindra Bhat inaugurated the 4th Round Table Conference (RTC) on ‘Implementation of Juvenile System’ in J&K and Ladakh at SKICC on Saturday.
The conference was organised by the Juvenile Justice Committee, Supreme Court of India, Juvenile Justice Committee, High Court of J&K and Ladakh in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir government and supported by UNICEF.
Delivering the inaugural address at the conference, Justice Bhat expressed gratitude to the Juvenile Justice Committee J&K and Ladakh for organising the conference and said that there was a need for greater deliberations and discussions over the issues of juveniles and the children who were in conflict with the law.
He outlined that the event was a welcome and ingenious step where all the stakeholders were sitting together to deliberate upon the work already done and what more needed to be done for the protection of children.
Justice Bhatemphasised that all the 22 Juvenile Justice Boards should be made functional in all 22 districts of J&K and Ladakh for strengthening the Juvenile Justice system.
He commended the Justice Bhat Committee of J&K and Ladakh and said a lot of things had been done and many gains and improvements were visible while more concerted efforts were needed to help improve by organising such round table conferences.
Justice Bhat said that the manpower in Juvenile Justice Boards makes delivery and implementation easy as children should become participatory citizens for investing in the future of the country.
Delivering the keynote address during the RTC, Chief Justice High Court of J&K and Ladakh, Justice PankajMithal said that the aim of the conference was to review the Juvenile Justice system and to review the pledge to work for the best interest of children of J&K and Ladakh.
In his welcome address, Justice Ali Muhammad Magrey gave an overview of the conference and said that Juvenile Justice Committee of the Supreme Court had as guiding block enriched their resolve to work for the betterment of children in conflict with law.
He said children constitute half the population of our country and were assets for the nation’s future but were not yet fully aware of their rights which leads to their exploitation.
Chief Secretary AK Mehta said the J&K government has resources available to strengthen the Juvenile Justice system in J&K.
Representative India UNICEF, Yasmin Ali Haque commended the Supreme Court of India and High Courts of the country for playing a proactive role for implementing the Juvenile Justice Act.