The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Centre and the Delhi government over a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleging serious delays in the disposal of cases by the Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) in the national capital.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela sought responses from both governments, as well as from the National and Delhi Commissions for Protection of Child Rights. The court has scheduled the next hearing for September 24 and directed the petitioner to present its concerns to the court’s committee on juvenile justice.
The PIL, filed by iProbono India Legal Services, raised concerns over the “shockingly poor” adherence to statutory timelines mandated under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. It argued that the delays constitute a grave miscarriage of justice and severely undermine the children’s right to a fair and speedy trial.
Citing Section 14 of the Juvenile Justice Act, the plea emphasized that inquiries in all offences must be completed within four months from the first appearance of the child before the board, with a possible extension of two months. For petty offences, the inquiry must be terminated if not concluded within six months.
The petitioner highlighted data obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, revealing extremely low disposal rates by Delhi’s JJBs. The plea attributed this, in part, to Delhi having only seven JJBs instead of the statutorily required eleven, as mandated under Section 4 of the Act.
The PIL asserted that the current pendency undermines the law’s primary objective: ensuring timely rehabilitation and reintegration of children in conflict with the law into society.
The petitioner has also urged the court to direct chief judicial magistrates and chief metropolitan magistrates to periodically monitor the pendency of cases before the JJBs and submit compliance reports to the court.
