9718 - Wrong age in Aadhaar lands tribal child in jail - The Hindu

MALAPPURAM, April 1, 2016

Updated: April 1, 2016 05:45 IST

A tribal child who was recently rescued from the sub-jail at Manjeri by the District Child Protection Unit had landed there because of wrong age given in his Aadhaar card.

The child, whose age was later confirmed at 16 years, had voting right as well. The anomaly of age that led to illegal imprisonment of the child following his alleged involvement in a group crime was the result of a careless campaign to cover the Adivasis under the Aadhaar umbrella.

The police officers and jail officials said the age given in the Aadhaar card and the electoral rolls was not accurate. It is pointed out that officials were treating Adivasis and their issues with laxity. Age and details of several other young Adivasis have reportedly been given in approximation as many of them did not have birth certificates or school certificates.

It was during a visit to Manjeri jail that the Child Protection Unit officials found the tribal child amongst the adult convicts and under trials there. The Child Protection Unit approached the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Nilambur, seeking the child’s release.

The court ordered that an age determination test be done on the child. The test done by a medical board at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, found that the child was below 18 years of age.

The released child was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), which sent him to an observation home in Kozhikode and sought the help of the District Legal Services Authority to provide legal aid for him.

Imprisoning a child in jail along with adult convicts is a violation of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and denial of the child’s rights.

It is the first case in the district where a child was booked for a heinous offence after the enactment of Juvenile Justice Act 2015, which came into force in January this year. About a month ago, another child, incarcerated on wrong assumption of age, was saved from a jail in Kozhikode by the Child Protection Unit.

‘‘We cannot blame the police in these cases. The police went by the proof of age provided by the accused,’’ said District Child Protection Officer Sameer Machingal. The JJB will now study the case thoroughly and assess the mental and physical strengths of the child. The JJB can transfer the case to Children’s Court (Sessions Court I at Manjeri), if the offence committed is heinous and could evoke a minimum of seven years’ imprisonment.