Satisfied With Report, No Minors Detained In Jammu And Kashmir

The Supreme Court said on Friday that it is satisfied with the report presented by the Juvenile Justice Committee of the Jammu and Kashmir high court, which stated that no minors have been under illegal detention in the region after August 5, when the Centre scrapped provisions that gave the erstwhile state a special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories.

The apex court bench, headed by Justice NV Ramana, said this while hearing a public interest litigation filed by child rights activists Enakshi Ganguly and Shanta Sinha, who alleged there was illegal detention of juveniles, in violation of the juvenile justice law and principles governing human rights. The petition, filed by senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi on September 16, cited news reports from US newspapers that claimed as much.

Hearing the petition, the bench said it has examined the report presented by the committee, comprising four high court judges who inspected all jails in Jammu and Kashmir to report that no minor was detained illegally.

The bench added that it would not be proper if the court did not believe its own judges.

“One more thing you have to keep in mind is that it affects the image of the judiciary. If you cannot believe our own judges then it is not done,” said the bench, also comprising justices R Subhash Reddy and BR Gavai.

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