During the period, the law enforcers also put many more children behind bars arbitrarily ignoring the Children's Act, 1974. In 2006 alone, a total of 1,810 children were held in prisons, while 1,890 were released, according to a recent statistics compiled by Save the Children UK, a non-government organisation (NGO) working for the welfare of the children.

Meanwhile, setting up of a juvenile court as per the Act, is yet to be done, the NGO report noted.

"Juvenile accused are to be moved to correction centres and other approved homes with utmost expedition," the High Court bench comprising Justice Amirul Kabir Chowdhury and Justice Md Nizamul Huq directed the government on April 9 in 2003.

In contrast with the court order, the number of children in jail is increasing with a significant rise this year, while three government-run juvenile correction centres remain practically vacant, an analysis of Save the Children, UK noted.

While there were 446 juvenile inmates till December 31 in 2006, in the first three months this year they were -- 461 till January 31, 469 as of February 28 and 511 as of March 31. The sharpest rise in number was marked between February and March, by 42.

Between these two months, the number of children rose slowly in 24 jails, but drastically in four other jails (Dhaka: 10, Cox's Bazar: 15, Brahmanbaria: 15 and Sylhet: 10). The numbers were stable in 10 jails and reduced in 19 jails, according to the statistics compiled by the NGO.

The present capacity of the three juvenile correction centres in Tongi, Jessore and Konabari is 700, but there are only 237 residents, it added.

According to a division-wise analysis, the numbers of children imprisoned have increased in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and Rajshahi division and decreased in Barisal and Khulna division.

Expressing grave concern over the rise in number of children in jails nationwide, the NGO noted that the non-bailable provision of recent amendment to the laws might be the reason behind it.

The High Court on March 4 this year issued a suo moto rule on the government regarding the confinement of the children in jails and non-implementation of the 2003's High Court verdict.

The rule was issued to the principal secretary to the chief adviser, secretaries to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Women & Children Affairs, inspector general of police and prison and six divisional commissioners.

The interim government is yet to reply to the rule.

The national task force also has not met since September 2006, although the High Court asked it to hold meetings at least every two months for evaluating the progress of juvenile justice, sources said.

The activities of the district task forces also became very slow, sources said, adding that the meetings of the task forces were held only in 30 districts out of the 57 districts in January.

Asked about non-implementation of the High Court directives, Supreme Court Advocate Shahdeen Malik said that the court had clearly interpreted the Children Act that prohibits punishment to any children and provides for their custody, protection and treatment.

"But hardly anyone had tried to understand the Act in juvenile justice passed more than 30 years ago and that the child in conflict with law, must be helped to be reformed," he said.

Under the Act, helping and reforming children is the responsibility and duty of the lawyers, judges, police and probation officers, but that has not been adequately understood and hence not implemented by all concerned, the legal expert noted.

The law says that there must not be any children in jail in the country and that was the spirit of the 2003 judgment, Malik observed. "It is really unfortunate that still there are 511 children in jails."