JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT

Presented By :Garima Gupta Karuna LuniaMansi SharmaRiya SethiShrishti KhandelwalSiddhi Kothari

In the Indian context, a juvenile or child is any person who is below the age of 18 years.However, the Indian Penal Code specifies that a child cannot be charged for any crime until he has attained seven years of age.

JUVENILE

Juvenile Delinquency

The Juvenile Delinquent is a child trying to act like a grown up. It is an expression of unsatisfied desire and urges.Juvenile Delinquency refers to the anti-social acts of children and of young people under age which means the failure of children to meet certain obligations expected of them by the society..

Delinquency is a kind of abnormality when an individual deviates from the course of normal social life..

Act of delinquency may include: 1. Running away from home 2. Habitual behavior beyond the control of parents. 3. Spending time idly beyond limits 4. Use of vulgar languages 5. Wandering about rail roads, streets market places 6. Visiting gambling centers 7. Committing sexual offences 8. Shop-lifting 9. Stealing

Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile DelinquencyReason

s

LonelinessTensionsDepression

POVERTY

Money Fever

Divorces

Other Reasons• Cozy lifestyle• Low intelligence and academic failure• Hyperactivity and impulsivity• Engagement in Social networking sites• Lack of Direction• Quantity but not quality education• Communication gap• Unhealthy competition• Family conflict

IMPACTSCRIME

suicidesSMOKING

Not Interested

JAIL

Creativity remains hidden

Unable to fulfill dreams

Solution forJuvenile

Delinquency

Healthy relations between Parents and children

Good Education system

Religion and spirituality

Companions

Meditation

Laws and regulations

High Moral values

Culture & tradition

Counselling

PROVISION JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT 2000 JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT 2015Treatment ofjuveniles

All children under the age of 18years treated equally. Maximumpenalty for juvenile in conflict with law is three years.

Juveniles aged between 16-18years committing serious or heinous offences could be tried as adults. However, there will be no death penalty or lifeimprisonment.

Juvenile JusticeBoard

Conducts inquiry and directs thejuvenile to be placed in any fitinstitution for a period notexceeding three years.

Adds a preliminary inquiry, conducted in certain cases by JJB to determine whether a child is placed in a home orsent to Children’s Court to be tried as an adult.

Child WelfareCommittee

Disposing of cases for children inneed of care and protection;Frequency of meetings notspecified.

Functions are same as in the Act; training of members to be done within two months of Bill becoming law Committee to meet at least 20 days in amonth.

Appeals Appeal to the Session Court within30 days of JJB order; further appeal to a High Court.

Appeal JJB/CWC order within 30 days to Children’s Court, further High Court(District Magistrate for foster care, etc).

Adoption No provision for inter-countryadoption in the Act; the GuidelinesGoverning the Adoption ofChildren, 2011 provide for inter-country adoption.

Inter-country adoption allowed if adoption cannot take place within the country, within 30 days of child being declared legally free for adoption.

Comparison Between Justice Act 2000 and Juvenile Justice Act 2015

CASE STUDY

P has committed rape. P’s case is committed to the session court after charged sheet is filed. P for the first time before the session court raises the plea that he was 16 years old on the date offence.

• The session court is obligated to deal with P’s plea under section 7-A of JJA 2000.

• The session court should “make an inquiry” and “record a finding” weather P is a juvenile or not. As previously mentioned, the session court will first seek documentary proof, and only in the absence of such proof, will P be sent for medical examination to ascertain his age.

• On enquiry, if P is found to be below 18 years old on the date of offence, his case will be transferred to the JJB and his custody to the observation home. If P is found to be above 18 years of age on the date of offence, P’s criminal case will continue before the session court.

• It is necessary to recall that the provision to section 7-A OF JJA 2000 states that a claim of juvenility may be raised before any court and it shall be recognized at any stage, even after final disposal of the case.

Pros for Juvenile Justice Act

Juvenile Justice Amendment Act protects women: If steps are not taken to prevent juveniles from escaping the gallows, crimes against women will continue to be perpetuated in society.

Punishment should befit crime: Providing the violent

juvenile convict with a job and money following his release after he brutalised, raped and killed a young girl is tantamount to incentivising crime. It gives a wrong message to poor sections where crime may be seen as a stepping stone for better opportunities.

What about crimes committed with full knowledge- For juveniles aged between 16 to 18, punishment should be given in cases such as the Nirbhaya juvenile convict where there is complete understanding regarding the implications of the crime.

Criminals are exploiting the juvenile justice system.With increasing number of organised crime networks exploiting the juvenile justice system and the loopholes, the Juvenile Justice Amendment Act will come as a welcome relief and deterrent for such evildoers.

Cons For Juvenile Justice Act Juvenile courts are not child savers: For their efforts to

prevent juvenile criminals from being tried in court, juvenile courts and specialists were called child savers. How can juvenile courts be called child savers?

Rehabilitation is possible in some cases: Rising violent crime rates have been testing the juvenile justice system in many countries. But the Bill does not make provisions for rehabilitation which is possible in some cases.

Juvenile justice homes are mere warehouses- They do nothing to address the problem of rehab and neither does the Juvenile Justice Bill.

Human mind not completely developed: Studies have shown that human mind is not completely developed till the age of 25 and juveniles are poorest of the poor. Often, such children forced into smuggling and prostitution have either no knowledge or choice. It is unfair to punish a child as an adult.

Juvenile Justice Homes are hell holes: Homes also lack trained counsellors and nearly 40% of the criminals lapsed back into crime on account of negligence from the authorities

CONCLUSION Attitude and perception towards Child Rights needs a change. The laws enacted requires to be effectively implemented to achieve the desired

goal of welfare of the children. The society must encourage children's participation in matters effecting their

rights as services to the children are no longer a charity.

The judiciary has played an appreciable role and contributed a lot in proper and beneficial implementation of the juvenile justice legislation by interpreting the provisions of Juvenile Justice Acts so as to provide maximum benefit and relief to the maximum number of the juveniles covered under the beneficial and favourable legislation.

A good intended legislation, properly and sincerely implemented and visionary interpreted, can significantly reverse the crime trends in the juveniles.