PasteTo understand Juvenile Justice we first need to understand who is a juvenile?
A juvenile is a person who is under the age of eighteen years.
Children have been recognized as supreme asset of the State.
The constitution of India , has in several provisions including clause(3) of Article 15, clause (e) and (f) of Article 39, Articles 45 and 47 imposed on State the primary obligation of ensuring that all the needs of children are met and their prescribed human rights are fully protected. Further, rights of children have been protected in the national conventions and treaties. The United Nations adopted a convention on the rights of a child and prescribed a set of standardized to be adhered to by all the States as authorities in securing the interest of the child. Further it emphasised the social re-integration of child victims to the extent possible without restoring to judicial proceedings.
Despite these dictum not much had changed on the ground.
The Supreme court in the case of Bandhua Mukti Morcha v UOI( AIR 1997 SC 2218) said that-
“ Child of today cannot develop to be a responsible and productive member of tomorrow’s society unless an environment which is conductive to his social and physical heath assured to him . Every nation , developed or developing , links its future with the status of the child , childhood holds the potential and also sets the limit to the future modification of the society. Children are the greatest gift to humanity. Mankind has best hold of itself. The parents live for them. They personify the joy of life in them and in the innocence relieving the fatigue and toil in their struggle of daily life. Parents regain peace and happiness in the company of the children. The children signify eternal optimism in the human beings and always provide the potential for human development. If the children are better equipped with a broader human output, the society will feel happy with them. Neglecting the children means failure to the society as a whole. If children are deprived of their childhood socially, economically, physically and mentally the nation gets devoid of the potential human resources for social progress, economic empowerment
and harmony and order , the social constancy and good citizenry. The founding fathers of the Fundamental law , therefore have emphasized the importance of the role and the need of its best development . Dr.Bhim Rao Ambedkar , who was far ahead of his time period in his wisdom proposed these rights in the Directive Principles including the children as beneficiaries. Their deprivation has harmful effect on the effectivity of the democracy and the role of law”
In this background it was considered expedient to re-enact the existing law relating to children resulting in the enactment of the Juvenile Justice ( Care and protection of children) Act 2000.
The essence of the Juvenile justice Act 2000 and the rules framed thereunder in 2007 is restorative and not retributive.
In the case of Salil Bali v Union of India (AIR 2006) the Supreme court held that –
“ The age of eighteen has been fixed on account of the understanding of experts in kid psychology and behavioral patterns that till such an age the children in conflict with law could still be redeemed and restored to mainstream society, instead of becoming hardened criminal in future. There are, of course, exceptions where a minor in the age group of sixteen to eighteen may have developed criminal tendency, which would make it virtually impossible for him/her to be reintegrated into mainstream society,but such examples are not of such properties as to warrant any change in thinking , since it is probably better to try and re-integrate children with criminal tendency into mainstream society, rather than to allow them to develop into hardened criminals, which does not augur well for the future.”
The Act was aimed at providing a juvenile justice system for children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection by adopting a child friendly approach in the adjudication and disposition of matters in the best interests of children and for their exoneration keeping in view the devolution needs of the children.
CLAIM OF JUVENILITY
Plain reading of the section 7-A of the juvenile Act would therefore reveal that the claim of juvenility can be raised at any stage of the proceedings and even after disposal of the case.
It is significance to refer to a catena of decisions of the Honorable Supreme court , on the claim of juvenility.
In pradeep kumar v state of Uttar Pradesh : A three Judege bench of the Honorable Apex court finding that the accused was below sixteen years of age on the date of commission of offence, held that as per the then provisions of Uttar Pradesh children act , he cannot be sentenced to life as the accused had crossed thirty years,directed his release from jail.
In Bhim alias Uttam Ghosh v State of west Bengal( AIR 2011): The appellant was sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment. It was established by the honorable court that on the date of the offence , he was a juvenile in conflict with law and is entitled to benefit of New act of 2000 and by that time he has become forty two years old . But he was in jail for less than three years.
The provision contained in section 7-A is mandatory. The court is bound to follow the mandate of section 7-A , whenever a claim of juvenility is raised by an accused, irrespective of whether such claim is raised at the fag end of the trial or whether it is made at the conclusion of the trial,the court has to recognize the claim without fail. But claim of juvenility lacking in credibility or frivolous claim of juvenility or patently absurd or inherently improbable claim of juvenility will be rejected by the court at threshold whenever raised .
This will ensure that no one will be able to take undue advantage of the mandate.
JUVENILE JUSTICE BILL
2014 – AN ANALYSIS
It is a welcome move that the words ‘child in conflict with law’ have replaced ‘juvenile in conflict with law’ in the text of the Bill but the title still continues to include the words ‘Juvenile Justice’ thus, making the Bill not completely free from the negative connotation associated with the word juvenile.
One of the important clauses which have been incorporated in the present Bill is treating juveniles committing heinous crimes such as rape, murder, acid attack etc in the age group of 16-18 years as adults. Under the Bill the authorities will conduct an assessment of certain factors including the “premeditated nature” of the offence and “the child’s ability to understand the consequences of the offence”. Based on the assessment, children can be prosecuted in an ordinary criminal court, and punished as adults if convicted.
Children are exposed to various things and that is why they are not that innocent as earlier. Their understanding of things is also above their age.
In the Delhi gang rape,two of the four accused who have been awarded death penalty are of the age of nineteen and twenty years respectively while the juvenile who turned eighteen years three months after the incident will be home within three years. The argument that the juvenile was incapable of forming the guilty intention or mens rea and there is a need for his rehabilitation is grossly unjustified because he was very well aware that two persons were being harmed in the most brutal manner possible and even with that knowledge and understanding he, not only participated, but played the most active role, in the ghastly act that led to the death of the prosecutrix. The argument that there is a possibility of his rehabilitation is true for the rest of accused as well including the two who were less than two years older than the juvenile. All the accused, including the juvenile, are guilty of the horrifying act to the same degree and any differentia that tends to separate them, specifically speaking, is unconvincing, arbitrary and devoid of any reasonable basis.Undoubtedly, children require special attention and they cannot be treated as adults but when their actions are as horrifying as in the above case, the distinction on the basis of age between them and adults seems superfluous. The differentia in such serious offences should not be on the basis of age but rather on the nature of crime committed and the understanding of the accused concern. A strait jacketed distinction on the basis of age, as is evident from the above case, leads to injustice.
Juveniles may be, as a general matter, more trammeled by forces beyond their control than adults, but it can fairly be said that like any human being they make choices and when these choices result in incidences like the Delhi gang rape or any other like incident, the society deserves justice. The mere technicalities of law should not become the grounds for injustice. These persons should not be given the easy way out on the insufficient grounds of age and rehabilitation. Assuming that an individual understands the nature and quality of his actions, punishing all offenders equally regardless of age is less arbitrary than the current blanket immunization of many younger juveniles from criminal liability.
Clause 2(14)(viii) of the Bill provides that a child who is being or is likely to be abused, tortured or exploited for the purpose of sexual abuse or illegal acts would be considered to be in need of care and protection. This provision is laudable but plain reading shows that it excludes those children who may have been abused in the past. Children who have been abused undergo considerable trauma and are faced with stigma and hence, they may be in need of support and linkages to services. Therefore, this sub-clause should apply to children who have been abused as well.
Clause 4(2) of the Bill provides for the Juvenile justice board and reads as follows: “A Board shall consist of . . . and two social workers from two different reputed non-governmental organisations . . .” Clause 4(3) of the Bill further provides for the following: “No social worker shall be assigned as a member of the Board unless such person has been actively involved in health, education, or welfare activities appertain to children for at least seven years or a practicing professional with a degree in child psychology.” The condition requiring the two social workers to be from reputed NGOs only and that too having seven years of experience is a very restrictive provision.
Clause 2(14)(ii) of the Bill provides that a child found working in contravention of labour laws for the time being in force or found begging, or living on the street would be considered to be in need of care and protection. A reference to labour laws restricts the scope of care and protection measures to only those children who come under the protection ambit of labour laws. Consequently, children between 14 to 18 years of age who are engaged in labour would be deprived of rehabilitation measures available under the Bill.
The very fact that a huge majority of children in India are in a condition of suffering evidences the inability of the laws to provide protection to them despite the fact that they were primarily enacted to meet this end.
These are the following suggestions which would make the Juvenile justice system more efficient :
The juvenile justice board is of immense importance in the entire juvenile justice system and hence , a special training programme in child welfare and child psychology must be prepared for the officers of the JJB including the Principal Magistrate.
The Principal Magistrate should not be entrusted with any other work of the criminal court except that of the Juvenile Justice Board as the Board is required to complete the enquiry within 4 months.
It is common knowledge that the homes meant for children in conflict with law as well as those in need of care and affection are in a shabby state of affairs. It is important that there should be separate homes for both these categories of children not only in law but also on ground. Further, the homes for children should be under CCTV coverage to facilitate inspection and supervision by the Board and surprise visits be made at these homes. It is also desirable that senior citizens be involved in these homes as community resource persons to look after the well-being of the children.
Nevertheless, the Indian legislature’s effort at enacting this law for child protection has to be appreciated despite the inadequacies. It is commendable that the Indian legislature has tried to fulfill its obligations under the Convention. As far as the law is concerned, apart from correcting the loopholes in the law, its implementation has to be stressed upon. Until and unless, black and white written on the paper is transformed into colour in the real world, the achievement of the Conventions goals will remain a distant dream for the Indian state.
JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT 2000
– A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Juvenile Justice Act (JJA) 1986 was replaced by the JJ Act, 2000 for promoting, protecting and safeguarding the rights of the children in India. The JJA, 2000 conforms to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child3, the ‘Beijing Rules’,4 and all other relevant national and international instruments clearly defining a child as persons up to the age of 18 years. The Act conforms to the Indian Constitution which provides special status to the children through Articles 15(3), 24, 39(e) and (f), and 45.
The various loopholes are as follows:
Under the Juvenile Justice Act (JJ) 2000, juvenile in need of care and protection are meant to be rehabilitated through noninstitutional care such as foster care, mentoring, sponsorship and adoption with institutional care as a last resort. Further, the basic idea of the Act is to re-integrate the juvenile in conflict with law into the society and lead a normal life through rehabilitative programs and correctional services. It is noticed that the juvenile justice system has often ceased to provide dignity and freedom to children, and instead caused them harm. The system itself has become part of the problem instead of the solution, thus violating the spirit and preamble of the JJ Act. There are nearly 480 Child Welfare Committees and close to 400 Juvenile Justice Boards in the country and it is estimated that there are 117 million children who are in need of care and protection5. The inappropriate ratio brings the scenario of the violation of the rights of the juveniles in need of care and protection.
There has been acute shortage of homes for juveniles in conflict with law as well as children on need of care and protection in the State of Assam. According to the report of Asian Centre for Human Rights on “Assam: The State of Juvenile Justice” it was brought to limelight that out of 27 districts in Assam there are only four observation Homes and three children homes run by the State.
The Act mandates the establishment of child care institutes for the juveniles in need of care and protection in every district. However, several such homes run by the union and state governments and NGOs have come to symbolize rampant abuses which have been taking place at these reformative homes. At Apna Ghar, a child care institution in Rohtak, which grabbed headlines in early 2012, more than hundred female residents said they were raped by caretakers and outsiders for more than a year. At least 10 girls had to undergo abortions. The report of the committee appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, immediately after the rampant sexual abuse in the institute was highlighted, observed that children were filmed for pornographic purposes and more than a dozen minor inmates were sold.
The Juvenile Justice Boards established under the Act has failed to provide speedy disposal of cases and piling up of cases relating to juveniles in conflict with law in most of the States in India. In the State of Assam till June 2013, atleast 1,789 cases were pending before the Juvenile Justice Boards in Assam, of which many are as old as ten years. 13 Till February 2013 there are 1,205 cases pending in the Juvenile Justice Board Pune.
Although there has not been increase in the rate of crimes committed by juveniles but the brutality with which it is committed is a cause of concern. The data provided above gives a clear picture that there has been an increase in the rate of crimes amongst the juveniles between the age group of 16-18 years. The recent inhuman gang rape in Delhi on December 16, 2013, has shocked the nation of the brutality with which the heinous crime was committed. Among the five accused in the crime, one of them was minor and the most barbaric one. As he was below the age of 18 years he was tried by the Juvenile Justice Board. Thereafter the juvenile was sent to reformative home for three years as that was the maximum punishment under the JJ Act 2000. This raised a public debate to amend the present JJ Act which gives protection to juveniles who commits such heinous crimes.
Thus, with the demands from various groups of the society to amend the JJ Act and also due to certain deficiencies in implementing the Act which has been already discussed above the law makers thought it essential to re enact the JJ Act.
The important part of the Act is its proper implementation and coordination among the various functionaries appointed under the Act to make it a successful piece of legislation.
JUVENILE JUSTIC (CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN)ACT 2000
CHILD IN NEED JUVENILES IN
OF CARE AND CONFLICT WITH LAW
PROTECTION
CHILD WELFARE COMMITTEE JUVENILE JUSTICE BOARD
WORKS UNDER THE WORKS UNDER THE
EXECUTIVE JUDICIARY
REHABILITATION SPECIAL HOMES
AND SOCIAL
INTEGRATION
ROLE OF POLICE
The first interaction that an immature juvenile delinquent has with the juvenile justice system is with a police officer. The nature and state of affairs of this police contact are likely to be significant and have a long lasting glimmering on a young individual. Children and juveniles are involved in a wide range of law violations ranging from status offenses to more grave offending, and present unusual challenges for the policing function. For juveniles, the police role is said to be especially significant, as young person’s view and outlook toward law enforcement are shaped by their first encounter with a police officer.
Juvenile offenders are involved in a oddly hefty number of crimes relative to their fraction of the population, so they present a special challenge for law enforcement. The role of police with juveniles is extended because they handle many non criminal issue referred to as status offenses, including running away, curfew violations, and truancy as well as non delinquent juvenile matters such as neglect, abuse, and missing persons reports. Most metropolitan police departments have special police units or juvenile bureaus for handling the growing number of juvenile cases. The job of special juvenile officers include taking missing children reports; probing runaway cases; investigating juvenile crimes; contacting and interviewing juveniles, their parents, school officials, and complainants regarding the situation of an offense; maintaining juvenile records; and appearing in juvenile court.
The problematic nature of dealings between police and young people has time and again been highlighted in the research works. Interactions between police and young people are often characterized by disagreement and stress, with high levels of annoyance, fear and mistrust on both sides. From point of view of young people, there are perceptions of mutually over-policing in public spaces and under-policing in cases of victimization. Perceptions of racism, bullying and aggression have also been well-known. Police, on the other hand, are reported to experience constant hassles and stubborn behavior from young people. In addition, a general lack of respect for police is often signaled by poor attitudes and demeanor. In short, the typical relationship between young people and police can be characterized as one of negative perceptions from both sides.
However, not all interactions between police and youth are preceded by the delinquent or criminal behavior of youth. And it’s not solely those kinds of interactions that may result in adverse consequences or feelings of tension and mistrust. Improving relations between police and youth won’t essentially be complete through a program or intervention alone. Experiences of young people and police, influences of family and peers, and private beliefs and attitudes towards each other all facilitate to form perceptions and behaviors. Addressing those influences that contribute to negative interactions veteran by police and youth will require a combination of things to come along and be sustained over time.
CONCLUSION
Juvenile justice is barely over hundred years old but has undergone a range of transformations. It began by introducing a new philosophy of parens patriae into the handling of youthful offenders and has since been transformed into a hybrid of the new humanistic discipline and the due process approach of the adult criminal justice system. Today, juvenile justice is still seeking out its appropriate form and place in society.
The response to juvenile crime has to be fair, age-appropriate and reflective of an understanding of developmental psychology.
The main aims of the Juvenile Justice Act with respect to children in conflict with the law are reform, rehabilitation and reintegration into the community. These are complex, inter-related, yet not impossible goals to achieve. However, to make either the counsellor or the child the only persons responsible for achieving these goals is to place a very huge burden on each of them. The entire juvenile justice system– including Juvenile Justice Boards-magistrates as well as social work members, families, caregivers, functionaries–mainly probationary officers and social workers, lawyers, doctors and psychiatrists, counsellors and teachers, community leaders and children themselves, have to work together to achieve these goals. Adolescents with mental health problems pose a challenge to the juvenile justice system and after their release to the larger mental health system. There’s an African proverb that says, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’. It will take all of us within the juvenile justice system and outside to enable these children who have come into conflict with the law to become responsible citizens leading meaningful and fulfilled lives. your essay in here…