New Delhi, April 21 -- Coming down heavily on the unlawful incarceration of a juvenile alongside adult inmates, the Supreme Court has ensured that the Uttar Pradesh government pay a Rs.5 lakh compensation to a man who, despite being a juvenile at the time of the offence, was lodged in a regular jail with adult prisoners. In a strong rebuke to custodial lapses, the top court underscored that such incarceration strikes at the heart of child protection laws and constitutional guarantees, while also taking on record a standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent recurrence of such violations across the state. A bench of justices JK Maheshwari and AS Chandurkar emphasised that housing a juvenile with adult inmates is impermissible under law. "Present is a case where a juvenile has been wrongfully put in regular jail meant for adult prisoners, even after declaring him juvenile, because of lack of communication, insensitivity and inhumane approach on the part of the officials," lamented the bench in an order released on Saturday....