Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
SUPREME COURT LEGAL AID COMMITTEE
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT05/09/1989
BENCH:
MISRA RANGNATH
BENCH:
MISRA RANGNATH
VENKATACHALLIAH, M.N. (J)
CITATION:
1989 AIR 1278 1989 SCR (2) 60
1989 SCC (2) 325 JT 1989 (1) 549
1989 SCALE (1)651
ACT:
Juvenile Justice Act, 1986: Sections 2(e)(h), 53 and
62--Setting up of Advisory Boards for implementation of
Act----Directions---Issued.
HEADNOTE:
In a public interest application filed under Article 32
of the Constitution for enforcement of fundamental rights
under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution being denied to
the hundreds of juvenile delinquents, all over the country,
the Supreme Court had issued directions from time to time.
Issuing further directions in the matter, this Court,
HELD: For the present the Advisory Board in terms of the
provision of the scheme for facilitating the monitoring of
the implementation of the Act should be set up at the State
level and steps at the District level may be deferred. [35E]
Each of the States, including the State of Jammu &
Kashmir to which the scheme would apply, by its consent, is
directed to set up its Advisory Board in terms of the
scheme. The total number of the Advisory Boards should not
be below 15 and not above 20. The State Government should
indicate as to who would be the Chairman and Secretary
respectively of the Board. Such Committee should be set up
within six weeks and report of compliance filed with the
Registry of this Court within eight weeks. The first meeting
of the Board should be within four weeks of its constitution
and every such Board should send its first proceeding to the
Registry, [35F, H, 36A-B]
JUDGMENT:
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION: Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 145 1 of
1985.
(Under Article 32 of the Constitution of India).
R.K. Jain and R.K. Bhatt for the Petitioner.
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Kapil Sibal, Anil D. Singh, V.C. Mahajan, A.S. Nambiar,
Salman Khurshid, Gopal Singh, Ms. K. Jaiswal, Ms. S. Janani,
Ms. A. Subhashini, Mrs. Indira Sawhney, Mrs. Urmila.Kapoor,
A.S. Bhasme, A.M. Khanwilkar, K.R. Nambiar, J.R. Das,
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D.K. Sinha, D. Bhandari, Y.P. Rao, S.K. Agnihotri, P.K.
Manohar, M. Veerappa, R.K. Mehta, K.R.R. Nambiar, B.D.
Sharma, K. Vasdev, D.N. Mukharjee, M.P. Jha, T.V.S.N. Chari,
Mahabir Singh, M.N. Shroff, A. Subba Rao, R.S. Sodhi, K.
Ramkumar, S.K. Bhattacharya, L.R. Singh, A.K. Sanghi, C.V.S.
Rao, R. Venkataramani, Probir Choudhary, T.V.S. Krishna-
murthy, S. Vasudevan, D.R.K. Reddy, K.J. Rao and U.N. Singh
for the Respondents.
The following Order of the Court was delivered:
ORDER
It is stated by counsel appearing for the States includ-
ing that of Nagaland that affidavits as directed have been
filed. Mr. Jain appearing in support of the writ petition
has asked for a direction to the State to set up Advisory
Boards both at the State and the District levels, as contem-
plated in the scheme so that implementation of the various
provisions of the Act can be facilitated.
We are of the view that for the present the Board in
terms of the provision of the scheme should be set up at the
State level and steps at the District level may be deferred
for the present.
Each of the States including the State of Jammu & Kash-
mir to which the scheme would apply though not under the Act
in view of its consent, is directed to set up its Advisory
Board in terms of the scheme. Implementation of the Act
would be convenient if in the Board to be set up the Minis-
ters of Law and Social or Children’s Welfare, as the case
may be, the Secretary to Government in the relevant Depart-
ment, the Head of the Police Establishment (Director General
or the Inspector General, as the case may be), the Head of
the Health Directorate, two members of the Bar with appro-
priate aptitude, an acknowledge lady social worker, a Member
of Parliament and a Member of the State Legislature, one or
two social workers of .acknowledged repute preferably con-
nected with children’s rehabilitation activity are included.
It would be open to the State Government to make small
variations depending upon the requirements of any particular
State. The total number of the Advisory Boards should not be
below 15 and not above 20. The State Government should
indicate
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as to who would be the Chairman and Secretary respectively
of the Board. Such Committee should be set up within six
weeks from today and report of compliance shah be filed with
the Registry of this Court within eight weeks. The first
meeting of the Board should be within four weeks of its
constitution and every such Board is directed to send its
first proceeding to the Registry.
N.P.V-
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