Expressing concern over the “startling revelation” that over 120 juveniles are lodged with adult criminals in Tihar Jail, the Delhi high court on Wednesday held police officers and magistrates responsible for the denial of the adolescents’ rights by not ascertaining their age correctly at the time of arrest.
“It’s a startling revelation, which clearly demonstrates that no proper inquiry is conducted into their (juveniles’) age by police officers at the time of arrests or by magistrates when the children are produced before them,” a bench of Acting Chief justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv S. Endlaw said.
The court’s observation came when a report submitted by a team of Delhi Legal Services Authority and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights said that when it recently visited the Tihar jail complex, as many as 121 juveniles were found lodged in the same jails as adult criminals, some of them habitual offenders.
The bench directed that the juveniles be immediately produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
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39 candidates file nomination for civic polls
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, March 21
The filing of nominations for municipal polls gathered pace on Wednesday as 39 more candidates entered the fray even as hectic discussions continued in the Congress and BJP to finalise candidates.
A total of 60 candidates have filed their nominations for the April 15 polls for the three municipal bodies.
On Wednesday, three BSP candidates and two each candidates of the LJP and Forward Block filed their nominations.
Hectic discussions were still on in the Congress and BJP to finalise their candidates.
The BJP is likely to come up with its first list on March 23 while the Congress is expected to finalise candidates by Sunday. Three municipal bodies — East, North and South — will go to polls on April 15 and the counting of votes will take place on April 17.
The last date for filing of nominations is March 26 and last date for withdrawal of nomination is March 28. The municipal polls are seen as a semi-final between the BJP and Congress ahead of the Assembly polls.