RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, May 19: The Jharkhand High Court today sought reply from the state government on appointment of regular principal magistrates for Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
A Division bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra sought the reply while hearing a PIL by Bachpan Bachao Andolan during which it was informed to the court that as many as 3691 cases are pending before the Board. Out of the total number, the maximum number of pendency is in Jamshedpur (561) followed by 433 in Ranchi.
The petitioner Chandan Singh’s advocate Anup Kumar Mehta submitted that the present magistrate has dual charge in both the JJ Board as well as the civil court.
The PIL was filed to strengthen the constitutional bodies established to help children. The bodies include the child welfare committee, state commission for protection of child right, Juvenile Justice Board and others.
