The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has woken up to the plight of juveniles in the country, thanks to a wake up call from Orissa, where the government is accused of flouting the laws on juvenile justice.The Commission has issued notices to the governments of all the states and Union Territories asking them to give information on whether the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2002 is being implemented properly.Sources said the NRHC’s special rapporteur A.B. Tripathi had sent a detailed report from Orissa enlisting the pitiable conditions in which the juveniles who are denied bail, are lodged, by the police. An NHRC spokesman said the report has brought out ‘‘rather disturbing trend’’ and hence the follow up. Although the Commission did not make the report public, sources said it was full or gory details of how children are being lodged, some even put up inside lockups, as not many Protection Homes have been set up for juveniles.The chief secretaries of all the states and UTs have been asked to send replies to the NHRC within a month.
