New Delhi:
In a landmark move, the Supreme Court has decided to monitor juvenile homes across the country. The top court has set up a panel under the chairmanship of Justice Madan B Lokur, a Supreme Court judge, for the purpose.
Sources this is the first time the Supreme Court is setting up such a committee after large number of complaints were reported about the poor maintenance of the juvenile homes in the country.
Sources also say that the top court is concerned about the reports of juveniles escaping the reform centres. Thirty three inmates escaped from a juvenile home in Delhi last week; 35 juveniles accused of serious charges like rape, murder and assault escaped from a reform home in Madhya Pradesh days before that.
Chief Justice of India, Justice P Sathasivam, has written to all the High Courts to nominate a judge to inspect the juvenile homes in the state.
The judge nominated by High Court will visit all the juvenile homes in the state to see whether they are run properly and enough funds are allocated to these reform centres.
The judges will then send their report to the state government and the juvenile committee, the Chief Justice has said.