Maharashtra government told to appoint judicial members at Umerkhadi children's home

The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the state government to appoint forthwith judicial members at the children's remand home at Umerkhadi in Dongri for speedy disposal of cases involving children in conflict of law.At present, the shelter home has one judicial member and two social workers to decide on cases pertaining to children housed there. A division bench of Justice V M Kanade and Justice B P Colabawala said, "The state should within four weeks appoint the judicial member."Judicial members are state-appointed persons who are recognised by the judiciary and operate from shelter homes as the idea is to not treat children like criminals and avoid taking them to courts. A judicial member decides on cases involving crimes committed by children at a particular state-run home and prescribes correctional measures.The high court also asked the government to check the availability of members and staff at other juvenile justice boards – each district has one JJB – in the state. If there is vacancy, take steps to fill them up, the state was told.Earlier, 42 children had been moved to David Sassoon Children Home, Matunga, in view of ongoing repairs at the Dongri home, but they had to be brought back after a boy died due to torture at the hands of some of the inmates.The government informed the court that children in conflict with law have been kept in separate barracks from those housed for other reasons. The HC was informed that CCTV cameras had been installed on the premises and temporary barricades had been erected outside the home for security reasons.On May 28, a 17-year-old boy died at the Matunga centre following brutal assault by a group of inmates. Taking a serious note of the incident, the court had called for steps being taken by the government to ensure that such incidents are not repeated.The tough stance of the court was also the fallout from a June 4 report of the principal magistrate, City Juvenile Justice Board. The report stated that ragging, sexual abuse and mental torture was a daily routine for several inmates. It further highlighted easy availability of drugs and the fact that many inmates continued to live at the remand home despite having turned adults.The court, while observing that substantial steps are being taken for safety of inmates, has directed the state to file an additional affidavit by four weeks.