SC seeks UP reply on juveniles in Agra jail
The Supreme Court has ordered UP to clarify if juveniles are housed with adults in Agra Jail, stressing minors must be in designated observation homes.
The Supreme Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to clarify whether juvenile delinquents are being kept with adult prisoners in Agra Central Jail, stressing that no law permits housing minors anywhere other than designated observation homes.
A bench of justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi, in an order last week, sought the state’s response after it came across a custody certificate for a juvenile issued by the superintendent of Agra Central Jail.
“How is this custody certificate from the Agra jail superintendent and not from a social welfare officer?” the bench asked advocate SC Birla, who appeared for the juvenile seeking bail on the ground that the delinquent had already spent over three years in custody –– the maximum period permitted under the Juvenile Justice Act.
Birla informed the court that, according to his information, a juvenile home functions within the Agra jail premises.
Visibly concerned, the bench remarked: “How can that be? The law requires them to be lodged in observation homes. They cannot be kept with adults.”
Recording its observations, the court noted: “It is seen from the record that the custody certificate has been issued by the Superintendent, Central Jail, Agra. Undisputedly, the petitioner was a juvenile on the date of the incident. However, he was required to be kept in an observation home, and the certificate should have been issued by the in-charge thereof. The said situation be explained by the State.”
The bench directed that a copy of the order and the petition be served to Shrishti Singh, standing counsel for the state, who must seek instructions and file a counter-affidavit before the next hearing. The court also asked for a report from the social welfare officer on the conduct of the petitioner by November 28, 2025.
Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, minors cannot be sent to regular jails. Any child in conflict with the law must be kept in an observation home or a special home, depending on the stage of the case. The Act also requires that the police verify the age of the accused at the time of, or immediately after, arrest. Each police station must have a designated child welfare officer (CWO) and a trained sub-inspector to handle cases involving minors in accordance with child-friendly procedures.
This is not the first time the top court has intervened in cases of juveniles lodged in Agra Central Jail. In July 2021, the Supreme Court granted bail to 13 prisoners who had spent 14 to 22 years in jail despite being declared juveniles at the time of committing their offences.
Those 13 prisoners had approached the apex court, terming their incarceration “illegal” since the Juvenile Justice Boards had, between 2017 and 2021, already confirmed their juvenile status. They argued that their prolonged detention alongside hardened criminals violated the spirit of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, which mandates that juveniles be tried separately and confined for a maximum of three years in observation homes.
The petitioners had then described the situation as “unfortunate and shocking”, saying several others in Uttar Pradesh jails faced similar fates.
The issue first came to light in 2012 in a PIL before the Allahabad high court, which revealed that a significant number of prisoners in the state’s jails were under 18 at the time of their alleged offences. Following the high court’s direction, the Director General (Prisons) confirmed the finding, and subsequent inquiries by Juvenile Justice Boards led to the release orders for the 13 inmates.
