SC seeks report on detention of children in J&K

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought an elaborate report by the Jammu and Kashmir high court juvenile justice committee on the veracity of the allegations relating to the detention of children by the state police following the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories.

A bench of Justice N.V. Ramana, Justice R. Subhash Reddy and Justice B.R. Gavai sought fresh report from the J&K high court JJ committee comprising four judges of the high court as it noted that earlier report was not entirely in consonance with the spirit of the September 20, 2019 order of the top court.

“As the issues highlighted pertain to alleged detention of children, we direct the juvenile justice committee of the high court of Jammu & Kashmir to undertake an exercise with regard to the facts stated in the writ petition and revert to us within a week from today,” said the top court by its September 20, 2019, order.

The court on Tuesday observed that the earlier report could not be entirely in accord with its directions as one week time given to it was not enough for a detailed findings of the facts of each case.

This time court did not bind the JJ committee with any time line asking it to submit the report expeditiously.

In the course of the hearing, the court made it clear that it was not satisfied with the report as the juvenile justice committee has not appreciated the spirit of the top court’s order. Seeking that the matter should now be sent to J&K high court, solicitor general Tushar Mehta said that the petitioner Ganguly should  approach the statutorily constituted  juvenile justice committee and avail of the available remedies.

As the top court made some observation not appreciating the report, Mr Mehta urged the court to hold its observations as it has its ramifications.

The court sought report from the JJ committee after senior counsel Huzefa Ahmadi  told the court “How can there be preventive detention of children?  The preventive detention of the children is not allowed.”

Pointing to the flaws in the report submitted by the HC’s JJ committee, Mr Ahmadi took the court through the details of the each case of detention of children brought before the court by the child right activist Enakshi Ganguly.    

“The Juvenile Justice Committee did not undertake the exercise as ordered by Supreme Court which was to submit a response on each of submissions made by the petitioner in Supreme Court” Ahmadi told the court.

 At the outset of the hearing, the court declined Solicitor General Mehta’s request for the adjournment of the hearing for next week as he was in another ongoing matter.

Declining the plea for adjournment, Justice Gavai said, “Such important matters cannot be allowed to be dragged on” and “Such important matters cannot be delayed like this”.

In the matter relating to communication blackout, senior counsel Virenda Griover appearing for Kashmir Times Managing Editor Anuradha Bhasin assailed the five order issued by the authorities to curb the communication, internet, SMS, WhatsApp, moble and landline services – some of which has now been restored.  

Telling the court that the orders which they are seeking to be set-aside were violative of the provisions of The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and amounted to the “crippling the freedom of speech and the freedom of press”.

Grover referred to the Section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act and contended that the orders issued on August 4, 2019, curbing communication lines, was not applicable to media outfits as there is a separate provisions dealing with the communication curbs on media.

Referring to the response filed by the Centre, Grover said that there was no nexus between the availability internet services and the escalation in terrorist activities.