The Delhi High Court has instructed the Delhi government to establish three juvenile justice boards in the national capital within a two-year timeframe, as proposed by the authorities. The court also acknowledged the government's readiness to lay the foundation stones for the Vatsalya Sadan in Alipur and an integrated complex to effectively implement the Juvenile Justice Act, which will house various juvenile justice institutions and statutory bodies for the care and protection of children in a single premises.
In an order passed on Tuesday and made available on Wednesday, a bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad stated, "The state government is directed to establish the centres, which have been proposed, within a period of two years from today." The directive was issued in response to a case initiated by the court in 2013 following an incident of vandalism at a juvenile detention centre in Majnu Ka Tila.
After the incident, the court's Juvenile Justice Committee visited the complex and found that the inmates had set fire to blankets and damaged parked cars, alleging mistreatment and delayed meals by the administration. The committee recommended that the matter be brought before the acting chief justice of the high court for further inquiry and suggested remedial measures. Since then, several orders have been passed to address the issue.
Currently, Delhi has 11 child welfare committees, six juvenile justice boards, and 21 government-operated child-care institutions. The court's order aims to improve the infrastructure for juvenile justice and enhance the care and protection of children in the capital.
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