New Delhi:The Supreme Court Monday asked the Centre to apprise it on whether observation homes, where minors in conflict with law were kept, and juvenile justice boards (JJBs) are equipped with the video-conferencing facility.
Referring to the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, the bench said: “The Act mandates that observation home should be there in every district. It is better to have a home which is properly maintained and have video conferencing facility.”
In the long run it will be cheaper for the states and also comfortable for children, it said, adding, “You do not need to take a child 200 kilometre just to attend JJB”.
Passing a slew of directions, a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta also asked all the trial courts across the country to consider the possibility of pruning the list of witnesses, in consultation with public prosecutor and defence counsel.
The bench said that in cases of petty offences, principle of ‘bail not jail’ should be liberally applied by the trial courts and in cases where accused was poor, the they should look into question of grant of bail in a sympathetic manner.
It said trial courts should also consider releasing poor under-trials on personal or bail bonds of limited amount.
The bench asked the trial courts to consider application of section 309 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which deals with power to postpone or adjourn proceedings, and ensure that when a witness appears before the court, he or she should be examined.
The court passed these directions while hearing a matter related to deficiencies in jails as highlighted by two apex court judges (one of them has retired) during their visit to Faridabad jail and an observation home in June this year.
The bench said that video-conferencing facility in JJBs and observation homes has to be there as it would be cheaper for the states and also comfortable for the minors.
The bench also referred to the situation in a state where a juvenile has to travel for five to six hours to be produced before the JJB and such a problem could be solved by having video conferencing facility in observation homes and JJBs.
The apex court also asked the Centre to inform it about the number of forensic science laboratories (FSLs), including the Central forensic science laboratory (CFSL), and indicate if there was any proposal to increase the number of such laboratories.
Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi, appearing for the Centre, said that there were problems of non-availability of human resources and technology in FSLs across the country.
“How many FSLs are there in the country?,” the bench asked.
Responding to the query, Lekhi said there were 23 FSLs, out of which six were CFSLs.
The bench asked the ASG to inform the court whether JJBs and observation homes were equipped with video-conferencing facility.
“A state-wise chart should be prepared so that necessary directions can be given,” the bench said and asked the states to co-operate and assist the Centre in this process.
The court asked the under trial review committees (UTRCs) to look into the question of whether an under trial prisoners, if feasible, could be released from jail so that it could help in reducing the problem of over crowding in prisons.
The UTRCs, set up in every district, deliberates and recommends the release of undertrial prisoners and convicts who have undergone their sentences or are entitled to be released from jail on bail or remission granted to them.
The top court had on October 8 said that adjournments during judicial proceedings, which compel witnesses to visit courts repeatedly to record their statements, was a “hard reality” and things will move smoothly only if provisions of the CrPC were followed properly.
During the earlier hearing, Attorney General K K Venugopal had told the bench that as per the court’s order, a committee under the chairmanship of retired apex court judge Justice Amitava Roy has been constituted to look into the issues related to jail reforms in the country.
The Attorney General had referred to non-functioning of video conferencing facility at observation homes for juveniles.
Advocate Gaurav Agarwal, assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, had said that 14 points were highlighted by the judges who had visited Faridabad jail and observation home.
The bench had said that the committee could look into several aspects highlighted by the two judges while some other issues have to dealt with by the court.
On July 13, the top court had taken note of lack of facilities in jails, leading to delayed trials and prolonged incarceration of under-trial prisoners, in the country and had sought assistance of the Attorney General in the matter.
