Udhampur, August 11: In honour of India’s 75th anniversary of independence, the J&K Legal Services Authority and the Juvenile Justice Committee of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh have organised a series of awareness programmes at juvenile detention centres, juvenile care facilities, schools, and juvenile shelters across the state.
The District Jail, Jagriti Old Age Home, One Stop Centre (OSC), Parisha and Palash (Child Care I), and the Juvenile Justice Committee High Court of J&K and Ladakh were all visited by Justice Tashi Rabstan, Executive Chairman, J&K Legal Services Authority, along with Rajni Rabstan, PDJ Udhampur, Haq Nawaz Zargar (Chairperson DLSA), and Amit Kumar Gupta, Member Secretary.
Justice Tashi was greeted with a formal Guard of Honour upon his arrival to the District Jail Udhampur.
In addition to seeing the female and male cells, Justice Tashi looked over the jail’s e-mulakat centre, VC facility room, STD facility, IGNOU centre, kitchen, eating hall, 10 bed dispensary, and dental clinic.
He also engaged in conversation with them, inquiring about their health and the amenities available to them.
During their time together, the detainees assured Justice Tashi that they were receiving a healthy food from the jail staff and that they were being represented in court by solicitors of their choosing or those appointed by the Legal Services Authority.
The prisoners in the jail put on a short cultural event to honour the country’s 75th anniversary of independence, and the audience was quite appreciative of their efforts.
The president and employees of the NGO-run ‘Jagriti’ Old Age Home welcomed Justice Tashi during his visit.
The inmates of the facility had a wide range of life experiences to share with him.
Security, the lack of a physician or physical therapist, and the absence of financial support from the Social Welfare Department for at least two years were all concerns voiced by the home’s president.
The administration of the home had Justice Tashi’s assurance that these problems would be resolved promptly.
In the end, Justice Tashi went to the One Stop Centre to see what services they offered and spoke to the employees to learn more about how everything ran.
In addition, Justice Tashi went to a facility called Parisha (Home for females) that can hold up to 25 convicts (now 15 females) and another facility called ‘Palash’ that can hold up to around 50.
In order to gauge the kids’ comprehension, he had them debate a wide range of issues.
Justice Tashi praised the social welfare department for providing these institutions with modern conveniences including air conditioning in the dorms, a leisure area with a giant LED screen, a computer lab, a clean and well-stocked kitchen and dining hall, and a fully equipped gymnasium.
He requested that all CCIs install infrastructure similar to his proposal.
Inmates from both Palash and Parisha collaborated on a cultural presentation to showcase their extraordinary abilities on this special day.
The girls’ performances on ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ were so moving that they had the audience transfixed.
Udhampur’s Additional District and Sessions Judge, Chief Justice of the High Court, Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, Principal Magistrate of the High Court, a team of Legal Aid and Dispute Resolution Commissioners (LADCs), the District Social Welfare Officer and his or her staff, and Para Legal Volunteers all attended.
All the sites visited by Justice Tashi also engaged in plantation campaigns to improve and green the surrounding environment.
