Read Time: 07 minutes

The Delhi High Court has recently issued additional directions for further streamlining the process of inquiries relating to juveniles, including the process of "age determination", and ordered that they have to be scrupulously complied with by all concerned authorities.

They are: 

1. Investigating Officer to collect and file before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) requisite documents towards proof of age of the juvenile within 15 days from the date of issuance of such directions;
2. Investigating Officer to ensure that the ossification test in relation to the juvenile is completed, a report is obtained and filed before the JJB within 15 days from the date the ossification test is ordered by a JJB;
3. JJB to ensure that process of age-determination of the juvenile is completed within 15 days from the filing of documents relating to proof of age/ossification test report by the Investigating Officer;
4. All persons/educational institutions/medical institutions/governmental authorities to whom a request is made by an Investigating Officer for providing documentation towards age-determination or for conducting ossification test on a juvenile, shall give priority, co-operate and undertake necessary procedures and processes to enable compliance with the aforesaid time-lines.

These directions were issued by a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup J Bhambhani after it was informed by the Secretary, Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee, Anu Grover Baliga, who was assisting the court in the matter, that the first and most significant point of delay in disposal of inquiries was that no timeframe was stipulated under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Production of Children) Act, 2015 or Model Rules, 2016 for completing the process of age-determination of juveniles.

On September 29, the Court had directed the state to close all cases alleging petty offences against children/juveniles, where the inquiry was pending and remained inconclusive for longer than 1 year, regardless of whether the subject child/juvenile had been produced before the JJB, within two weeks.

In compliance of the said directions, Additional Standing Counsel (Criminal) Nandita Rao, appearing for the State, placed on record certain documents indicating the status of cases in all six JJBs in Delhi by way of tabulated summaries.

With regard to the directions to apprise the Court about cases where inquiries were pending for between 6 months and 1 year, Rao sought further time to furnish the  details and added that the rehabilitation plans/individual childcare plans in relation to these juveniles would also be furnished within this timeframe.

Senior Counsel and Amicus Curiae HS Phoolka, further informed the bench that though a sizeable corpus was available in the Juvenile Justice Fund set-up under section 105 of the JJ Act, no significant sum had been disbursed for the intended purposes over the past several years there w.

Phoolka further told the court that although there was a proposal to set-up 11 JJBs for a territory as large as Delhi, at present only 6 JJBs were set up in spite of there being 11 judicial districts.

This prompted the Court to direct the State to apprise it as to the quantum of money sanctioned and allocated for the Juvenile Justice Fund and the quantum disbursed from the said fund, along with the purpose for which money was disbursed, as of November 30, 2021.

"The State is also directed to apprise the court as to the status of the proposal to increase the number of JJBs in the city, including the timelines proposed for the purpose", added the bench.

The matter is listed now on December 14 for further consideration.

Cause Title: Court on its own motion vs State