Section 9 in Punjab Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2014
9. Pre and post-production action of police and other agencies.
(1)As soon as a juvenile alleged to be in conflict with law, is apprehended by the police, the concerned police officer shall inform;-(a)the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer in the nearest police station to take charge of the matter;(b)the parents or guardian of such juvenile about the apprehension of the juvenile, the address of the Board, where the juvenile will be produced and the date and time when the parents or guardian need to be present before the Board; and(c)the concerned probation officer of such apprehension to enable him to obtain information regarding social background of the said juvenile and other material circumstances likely to be of assistance to the Board for conducting the inquiry.(2)Soon after the apprehension, the said juvenile shall be placed under the charge of the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the nearest police station, who shall produce the juvenile before the Board immediately, and where such designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer, has not been designated as per the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 63 or when such officer is not available for any reason, the police officer, who had apprehended the juvenile, shall produce him before the Board.(3)The police apprehending a juvenile in conflict with law, shall, in no case, send such juvenile in lock-up or delay his charge in transferring to the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the nearest police station, if such an officer has been designated.(4)A list of all designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officers in a District and the members of Special Juvenile Police Unit with contact details, shall be prominently displayed in every police station.(5)For gathering the best available information it shall be incumbent upon the Police or the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the nearest police station to contact the parents or guardians of the juvenile in conflict with law and also apprise them of the juvenile's law breaking behavior.(6)The police or the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the nearest police station, as the case may be, shall also record the social background of the juvenile in conflict with law and circumstances of apprehension and offence alleged to have been committed in the case diary of each juvenile, which shall be forwarded to the Board forthwith.(7)The police or the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer, from the nearest police station, as the case may be, shall exercise the power of apprehending the juvenile in conflict with law only in cases of his alleged involvement in serious offences (entailing a punishment of more than seven years imprisonment for adults).(8)In such cases where apprehension apparently seems to be in the interest of such juvenile, the police or the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the nearest police station, as the case may be, shall rather treat the juvenile as a child in need of care and protection and produce him before the Board, clearly explaining the juveniles need of care and protection in its report and seek appropriate orders from the Board .(9)For all other cases involving offences of non-serious nature (entailing a punishment of less than seven years imprisonment for adults) and cases where apprehension is not necessary in the interest of the juvenile, the police or the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the nearest police station, as the case may be, shall intimate the parents or guardian of the juvenile in conflict with law about forwarding the information regarding nature of offence alleged to be committed by their such juvenile along with his socio-economic background to the Board, which shall have the power to call such juvenile for subsequent hearings.(10)In dealing with cases of juveniles in conflict with law, the Police or the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the nearest police station, shall not be required to register an First Information Report or file a charge-sheet, except where the offence alleged to have been committed by the juvenile in conflict with law is of a serious nature, such as rape, murder or when such offence is, alleged to have been committed jointly with adults, instead of the matters involving simple offences, the Police or the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the nearest police station, as the case may be, shall record information regarding the offence alleged to have been committed by such juvenile in the general daily diary followed by a report containing social background of the juvenile and circumstances of apprehension and the alleged offence and forward it to the Board before the first hearing of the case.(11)The State Government shall recognize only such voluntary organizations as are in a position to provide the services of probation, counselling, case work, a safe place and also associate with the Police or the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the Special Juvenile Police Unit, and have the capacity, facilities and expertise to do so as protection agencies that may assist the Police or the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the police at the time of apprehension, in preparation of the report containing social background of such juvenile and circumstances of apprehension and the alleged offence and in taking charge of such juvenile until his production before the Board within twentyfour hours.(12)The Police or the designated Juvenile or the Child Welfare Officer from the Special Juvenile Police Unit, or the recognized voluntary organization shall be responsible for the safety of the juveniles and ensure the provision of food and basic amenities to such juveniles, apprehended or kept under their charge during the period, such juveniles are with them.(13)When a juvenile in conflict with law is produced before an individual Member of the Board, and an order is obtained, such order shall need ratification by the Board in its next meeting.
