The Supreme Court on Friday sought a report from the Juvenile Justice Committee of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on a petition challenging the illegal detention of children in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) since August 5, when the Centre scrapped Article 370 from the State, taking away its special status and dividing it into two Union Territories.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising of justice SA Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer issued notice to file a report within a week, in a petition filed by two child right activists, Enakshi Ganguly and Professor Shanta Sinha.
The court has also issued notice to the Centre in this matter.
Based on media reportage, the petition highlights that a large number of minors and youths have been picked up by the security forces in many places in the Valley and the injuries and deaths, the children are facing due to actions of the security forces.
The Chief Justice observed that the petition raises crucial questions regarding the detention of children in Jammu and Kashmir.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that one case of detention of a person, mentioned in the petition, had been referred to the Juvenile Justice Committee after he was found to be minor.
Chief Justice said it was not the question of an individual, but a larger issue which needed to be addressed.
The bench however, said that the report filed by the Chief Justice of the High Court disputes the claim of the petitioners’ counsel that they were facing extreme difficulties in accessing the Jammu and Kashmir High Court as the Valley remains in lock down.