JUDGMENT

ORDER dated 5-8-86 :— This application under Art. 32 of the Constitution has asked for release of children below the age of 16 years detained in jails within different State of the country, production of complete information of children in jails, information as to the existence of juvenile courts, homes and schools and for a direction that the Distric Judges should visit jails or sub-jails within their jurisdiction to ensure that children are properly looked after when in custody as also for a direction to the State Legal Aid Boards to appoint duty counsel to ensure availability of legal protection for children as and when the are involved in criminal cases and an proceeded against. The Union of India and all the States and Union Territories have been impleaded as respondents.

2. On September 24, 1985, notice was directed to all the respondents. A few of the respondent States filed counter-affidavits in response to the notice. The matter was adjourned on March 31, 1986, to April 15 1986, to enable the respondents who had no yet filed their affidavits to file such affidavits On April 15, 1986, after, hearing counsel who appeared for the parties this Court pointed out :

"......It is an elementary requirement of any civilised society and it has been so provided in various statutes concerning children that children should not be confined to jail because incarceration in jail has a dehumanising effect and it is harmful to the growth and development of children. But even so the facts placed before us, which include the survey made by the Home Ministry and the Social Welfare Department show that a large number of children below the age of 16 years are confined in jails in various parts of the country."

This Court directed the District Judges in the country to nominate the Chief Judicial Magistrate or any other judicial Magistrate to visit the District Jail and Sub-Jails in their districts for the purpose of ascertaining how many children below the age of 16 years are confined in jail, what are the offences in respect of which they are charged, how many of them have been in detention - whether in the same jail or previously in any other jail - before being brought to the jail in question, whether they have been produced before the childrens Court and, if so, when and how many times and whether any legal assistance is provided to them. The Court also directed that "each District Judge will give utmost priority to this direction and the Superintendent of each jail in the district will provide full assistance to the District Judge or the Chief Judicial Magistrate or the Judicial Magistrate, in this behalf who will be entitled to inspect the registers of the jail visited by him as also any other document / documents which he may want to inspect and will also interview the children if he finds it necessary to do so for the purpose of gathering the correct information in case of any doubt. The District Judge, Chief Judicial Magistrate or the Judicial Magistrate, as the case may be, will submit report to this court within 10 weeks from today. It will also be stated in the report as to whether there are any childrens homes, Remand Homes or Observation Homes for children within his district and if there are, he will inspect such childrens homes, remand homes and observation homes for the purpose of ascertaining as to what are the conditions in which children are kept there and whether facilities for education or vocational training exist. Such reports will be submitted by each District Judge through the Registrars of the respective High Courts to the Registrar of this Court. Each State Government will also file affidavit stating as to how many childrens homes, remand homes and observation homes for children are in existence in the respective State and how many inmates are kept in such childrens homes remand home or observation homes. We would also direct the State Legal Aid & Advice Board in each State or any other Legal Aid Organisation