New Delhi, Oct. 23 -- The Supreme Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to clarify whether juvenile delinquents are being kept with adult prisoners in Agra Central Jail, stressing that no law permits housing minors anywhere other than designated observation homes. A bench of justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi, in an order last week, sought the state's response after it came across a custody certificate for a juvenile issued by the superintendent of Agra Central Jail. "How is this custody certificate from the Agra jail superintendent and not from a social welfare officer?" the bench asked advocate SC Birla, who appeared for the juvenile seeking bail on the ground that the delinquent had already spent over three years in custody -- the maximum period permitted under the Juvenile Justice Act. Birla informed the court that, according to his information, a juvenile home functions within the Agra jail premises. Visibly concerned, the bench remarked: "How can that be? The law requires them to be lodged in observation homes. They cannot be kept with adults." Recording its observations, the court noted: "It is seen from the record that the custody certificate has been issued by the Superintendent, Central Jail, Agra. Undisputedly, the petitioner was a juvenile on the date of the incident. However, he was required to be kept in an observation home, and the certificate should have been issued by the in-charge thereof."...