The Juvenile Justice panel has sought intervention of thePrincipal Secretary Home in the case of a juvenile from Shopian who has beenslapped with the PSA for his alleged involvement in 2016 agitation.
Chairperson, Selection–cum-Oversight Committee (SCOC) – theapex body for monitoring and evaluating the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, Justice(R) Hasnain Masoodi, in a communication to the Principal Secretary Home, hassaid, “The case of Ikhlaq Ahmad Ganai of Meemandar, Shopian who has beendetained under Public Safety Act should be considered and his detention ordershould be revoked.”
The communication points that Ikhlaq, as per his schoolrecords, was juvenile on the day he was detained.
“The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act leaves scope forrevocation of detention order by the government whenever the detention is foundto be forbidden under law and that the date of occurrence is relevant in allcases where benefit of juvenility is to be extended,” said Justice Masoodi.
While stressing that a circular should be issued by thegovernment, he said that Station House Officers (SHOs) should be told topresent juveniles before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
“It has become a phenomenon that juveniles are detained andlater kept in police lock-up, than presenting them before the Juvenile JusticeBoard, as mandatory under the Juvenile Justice Act.”
The Juvenile Panel took cognizance of an article by RabiaNoor – a child right activist and a media fellow with National DevelopmentFoundation – about Ikhlaq.
According to Rabia, “Ikhlaq was apprehended by police duringmidnight from his home on September 7, 2018 before PSA charges were broughtagainst him.”
Ikhlaq, as per his family, Rabia said, “was booked under 20charges related to agitation of 2016 when he was barely 17. He was detained bypolice station Shopian for over two months and later shifted to District PoliceLine, Pulwama for a week.”
“He was again detained by Shopian police for a couple ofdays before being shifted to sub Jail Hiranagar, Jammu under PSA charges.”
As per the school certificate the date of birth of Ikhlaq,the eldest among the four siblings, is September 8, 1999 and when policedetained him he was juvenile and as per juvenile act.
Pertinently, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court passed anorder in December 2016 stating that a minor cannot be booked under PSA in viewof a clear bar envisaged by section 8(3)(f) of the act.