By IANS,
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir will bring its Juvenile Justice Act at par with the national act to push the process of reforms in this area, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said Thursday.
Omar Abdullah told a gathering of police officers at Udhampur Thursday that there was a “need for bringing the Jammu and Kashmir State Juvenile Justice Act at par with the National Act to remove impediments, if any, and ensuring reform of juveniles rather than detention”.
His remarks come in the wake of the embarrassment the state government faced over the arrest of 14-year-old Faizan Rafiq of Anantnag under the stringent Public Safety Act.
“I would ask the Law Department to look into the provisions of both the Acts and if any gap is required to be filled up in the state Act through legislation we should move towards that direction,” the chief minister said underlining the importance of a juvenile justice system to avoid any chance of erring in dealing with juveniles.
Omar Abdullah said he wanted “to convert juvenile detention centres into reform centres where children could be given training in different skills and provided conducive environment to reform and be good citizens”.
“After leaving the juvenile centre they should not have worsened but reformed as normal and useful persons,” he added.
“In my personal opinion no juvenile should at all be detained but when there is no choice he should get full justice and treatment to reform, correct his misconceptions and mindset and be rehabilitated as a normal citizen,” he said.