KARACHI, June 1: The Sindh government on Saturday notified the rules under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000, which at once became effective.
The government shall establish and maintain at least one borstal institution in every district of the province.
The rules provide that where it appears to a juvenile court that a legal practitioner appointed under section-3 is not competent or is not providing legal assistance properly, the court may direct to engage another legal practitioner in his place.
A panel of legal practitioners shall be constituted by the sessions judge for providing legal assistance to the child offender but no legal practitioner shall be appointed for more than two cases at a time.
The necessary arrangements for providing education and training to the inmates for their mental, moral and psychological development shall be made in every borstal institution. Every borstal institution shall provide preferably cellular accommodation to the inmates with facilities such as sanitary, toilets and bathrooms.
The rules further provide that no child offender shall be admitted to a borstal institution except under the order of a Juvenile court.
Among other things the rules provide that a female child offender shall be detained in a separate enclosure of the borstal institution exclusively established for the purpose and where there is no such enclosure the matter shall be reported to the concerned court for transfer of such child offender to any care home. No female child offender shall be kept in a police lock up or prison.
Every inmate shall be examined by the chief medical officer or medical officer of the borstal institution who shall record age, weight, height, identification marks and health report of every inmate.
A female inmate shall be treated by the female medical officer and female staff in all related matters.
Beside spelling out various modes of medical treatment the rules allow every inmate at least twice a week meeting with his legal adviser in connection with the judicial proceedings against him and his friends, relatives or family. In case of interview of female inmate, a matron shall be present to supervise and watch the interview.
