JJ Boards, Child Welfare Panel Selections: High Court asks Haryana, Punjab to speed up appointment process

The Haryana government, during the hearing, told the single bench that a selection committee headed by Justice (retd) Dr Bharat Bhushan Parsoon had been constituted last month for the selection of the chairperson and members of the board and committee. “Let the selection committee expedite the process and let a status report on outcome be filed on the next date of hearing,” the order reads.

The Punjab government told the court it had formed a committee headed by retired Chief Justice M M Kumar and was in the process of selecting its members. The Committee has been directed by the court to complete the process at earliest. The next date of hearing in the case is May 18.

Meanwhile, during the hearing of a PIL initiated by the High Court on the effective implementation of Juvenile Justice Act in the region, the division bench of Justices Ajay Kumar Mittal and Anupinder Singh Grewal on Thursday appointed senior lawyer R S Bains as an amicus in the case.

A communication sent by the Principal Magistrate of Juvenile Justice Board, Panchkula was also placed before the division bench. The court was informed that a letter had been last year written to the Panchkula Deputy Commissioner by the Principal Magistrate for providing infrastructure in the official accommodation of the board at the mini secretariat, but there has been no response from the district administration.