The Uttarakhand High Court has issued notice to the Central and the state governments for imprisonment of dating minor males caught by the police with their female partners.
The High Court was surprised to learn that 20 minor boys were languishing in Haldwani jail for dating.
Hearing upon a PIL filed by a lawyer Manish Bhandari, the High Court sought replies from Uttarakhand and Central governments as to why only male minors were arrested and imprisoned when they were caught with their female partners.
A double bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Ritu Bahari and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal expressed its surprise as it learnt that 20 minor boys are in Haldwani jail for dating.
Following this, the bench led by the Chief Justice issued notices to the Centre and the state.
Petitioner had contested in the PIL why only boys are indicted and held responsible in dating cases of the minors.
Bhandari argued that in some cases boys are taken into custody and imprisoned even in the cases where girls are older than them.
He claimed that under the Juvenile Justice Act, minors and their parents must undergo proper counselling.
Bhandari alleged that law calls for the constitution of a board to study the mental status of the minors in 16-18 years age group instead of indicting them under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and putting them behind the bars.
He requested the HC to consider the fact that minors must not be sent to the jails directly but should be counseled first.