Published on 13th April 2025
Authored By: M.Vijayalakshmi
Chennai Dr.Ambedkar Government law college, pudupakkam.
INTRODUCTION
The juvenile justice system in India was enacted to address the issues related to children in conflict with the law and ensure their rights and welfare in society. The legislation, Juvenile Justice (care and Protection of Children)Act of 2015, provides children’s rights, recognising that minors, due to their age and mental maturity, require a different approach compared to adults. This system aims to help juveniles reintegrate into society by providing rehabilitation measures such as counselling, education, vocational training and community service, and addressing the underlying causes such as family dynamics, lack of education or educational obstacles and mental health conditions.
HISTORY OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN INDIA
“The watershed moment arrived in 1986 when the Juvenile Justice Act replaced the Children Act of 1920. This transformative legislation conceded that kids in conflict with the law weren’t conventional culprits but rather individualities in need of both care and protection.
The Children’s Act of 1960 addresses the fundamental economic and social causes of adolescent misbehaviour, which include a lack of guardianship and poverty. The establishment of Child welfare boards and courts is mentioned under this Act to provide adolescents with the right to help and Assistance.
The new conception of a Juvenile Welfare Board surfaced to oversee the prosecution of the Act, alongside the creation of observation homes to give provisional sanctum to youths awaiting legal proceedings.
Another vital correction was passed in 2000, aligning the Juvenile Justice Act with the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This modification raised the age of juvenile delinquency from 16 to 18 times, emphasizing recuperation and the flawless reintegration of juvenile malefactors into society.
In 2015 another significant correction following a high-profile case involving a juvenile perpetrator intertwined in the brutal rape and murder of a youthful woman in Delhi in 2012( known popularly as the Nirbhaya case). This correction introduced a nuanced provision kids progressed 16 to 18 could be tried as grown-ups for heinous crimes like rape and murder. Nevertheless, the overarching idea of recuperation and reintegration stayed for all other offences.
The 2021 correction shows India’s fidelity to making the juvenile justice system stronger. This correction brought in vittles for foster care and the relinquishment of children in dire need of care and protection. Also, it bolstered measures intended for the holistic recuperation and social reintegration of juvenile evildoers. Also, it elevated the places of both the Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare panels in the decision-making process”.[1]
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
Indian constitution enacts legislation that ensures juvenile justice, under Part III and Part IV of the Indian constitution, i.e. Fundamental rights and Directive principle of state policy protecting child rights and ensuring the state provides children rights and their education.
Article 15(3):Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.[2]
Article 39(f):That children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.[3]
Article 45: “Provision for free and compulsory education for children.
The State shall endeavour to provide, within ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years.
Provision for early childhood, care and education to children below the age of six years
The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years”.[4]
JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN)ACT,2015
Section 2(h) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 explains the term ‘juvenile’: any boy under 16 or girl under the age of 18 is considered a juvenile.[5]
The Act was passed in 2015 to include many new provisions, keeping in mind the increasing crime rate among children below the age of 18. It mandates the establishment of at least one Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee in each district. The Act also focuses on juvenile rehabilitation and care through various correction homes and also contains adoption-related clauses in the better interest of the child.
‘Child’ is defined under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 as someone who has not completed 18 years of age (a minor) and it classifies a child in two ways, namely,
- Children in conflict with laws.
- Children in need of care and protection.[6]
‘Juvenile’ is also defined in the same manner as someone who is below 18 years old. Thus, this Act removed the negative connotation which was attached to the word ‘Juvenile’. So, a juvenile in conflict with the law is a child who is an offender, and a juvenile in the protection of the law is an abandoned child in need of legal help.
This Act includes a provision to deal with offenders between the ages of 16 and 18 as adults if they commit a heinous offence. In penal laws, maxim doli incapax is used which means that children are deemed incapable of forming the intent to commit a crime because of their age.
JUVENILE COURTS
“The main function of juvenile courts is to have a special and distinctive procedure to look into juvenile offenders. As opposed to what earlier criminal courts used to do, wherein there was no distinction made between juveniles and adults, the juvenile courts in present times give necessary protection to children as they are not in a position to properly defend themselves. The need was realized to make the process more reformative for juveniles rather than punitive.
The Juvenile Justice Board is the Juvenile Court created under Section 4 of the Juvenile Justice Act (2015). Criminal justice administration is a state subject as per Schedule VII of the Indian Constitution”.[7]
JUVENILE JUSTICE BOARD
“The Board is empowered to deal with the cases under its jurisdiction and cases dealing with children in conflict with the law.
The power exercised by the Board can also be exercised by the High Court or the Session Court when the appeals from the Board come to them.
The Board has to inform the parent or guardian of the child at every step of the process.
The Board shall ensure that the rights of the child are protected throughout the process of inquiry and rehabilitation and ensure legal aid for the child.
It is the duty of the Board, wherever deemed necessary, to transfer a child in conflict with the law to a committee stating that the child requires care.
It also has a provision regarding filing a First Information Report (FIR) in case of an offence against a child in conflict with the law.
Periodically inspecting residential facilities for children in conflict with the law and recommending various measures for improvement in the quality of services”.[8]
BALANCING REHABILITATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY
India’s legal frame reflects an ongoing struggle to balance recuperation and responsibility. The Juvenile Justice( Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015( 16) attempts to address this by grading offences committed by kids into three orders: petty, serious, and heinous. The act provides for different treatment of kids grounded on the nature of the offence, with a lesser emphasis on responsibility in cases of heinous crimes. For petty and serious offences, the focus remains on recuperation, with kids generally being transferred to special homes where they admit education and vocational training. Still, in the case of heinous crimes, the Juvenile Justice Board( JJB)( 17) has the discretion to transfer the case to an adult court if the chick has progressed between 16 and 18 and is supposedly able to understand the nature and consequences of their conduct.
CASE LAWS
Hari Ram v. State of Rajasthan( 2009) [9]
In this case, one Hari Ram was indicted for committing a large number of felonious offences. Then the question was regarding his age and whether the indicated should be treated as an adult or juvenile.
Once the trial began, the fresh Sessions Judge declared the accused to be a child as he was below 16 of age on the date when the crime was committed under the 1986 Act, and therefore his case was transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board in Ajmer, Rajasthan. On the other hand, the High Court reckoned on the evidence of his father and medical reports and held that at the time of the commission of the offence, the indicted was above the age of 16 and, hence, barred him from the dimension of a child. Still, the 2000 Act made the age rise to 18 from 16 under which a child was to be considered a juvenile under the Act.
The issue before the Supreme Court was which Act would apply to the indicted. The Court held that all the pending cases would be dealt with according to the 2000 Act after its enactment, so the same Act would be happiest in the present case and the accused would be considered a child.
Jarnail Singh v. State of Haryana( 2013)[10]
In this case, the charge against the accused was that he took the prosecutrix down from her parents and had forceful sexual intercourse with her.
During the disquisition, she was discovered in his house, for which he was put behind bars for ten times of rigorous discipline along with a fine by the sessions court. The indicted, being the injured party, appealed the decision and claimed that the prosecutrix allured him to do so and stayed with him with his concurrence. He also contended that it was proven that the appellant was a minor. The Supreme Court, in this case, held that rules determining the age of a juvenile under the Juvenile Justice( Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007, could be applied as well in the cases related to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
CONCLUSION
The juvenile justice system plays a critical part in balancing responsibility with recuperation for minors who have engaged in felonious conduct. It’s innovated on the principle that kids can change and should be given an occasion to reform, rather than being subordinated to corrective measures designed for grown-ups.. While public safety remains a consummate concern, the system’s focus is on recuperation, reintegration, and the forestallment of unborn felonious geste, aligning with the broader thing of fostering positive issues for youth within society. Still, ongoing challenges, similar to differences in treatment and the need for effective interventions, punctuate the significance of continued reform and a commitment to the evolving principles of juvenile justice.
REFERENCES
[1]M, S. (2023) Juvenile justice system in India: Evolution and defects, CLATalogue. Available at: https://lawctopus.com/clatalogue/clat-pg/juvenile-justice-system-in-india-evolution-and-defects/ (Accessed: 12 January 2025).
[2]Article 15 in Constitution of India (no date) Indiankanoon. Available at: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/609295/ (Accessed: 12 January 2025).
[3]Article 39(F) in constitution of India (no date) Indiankanoon. Available at: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1139107/ (Accessed: 12 January 2025).
[4]Article 45 – Constitutional Provision (2021) Ministry of education. Available at: https://www.education.gov.in/directive_principles_of_state_policy_article-45 (Accessed: 12 January 2025).
[5] Recordoflaw (2024) Balancing rehabilitation and accountability: The Evolution of Juvenile Justice in India, Record Of Law. Available at: https://recordoflaw.in/balancing-rehabilitation-and-accountability-the-evolution-of-juvenile-justice-in-india/ (Accessed: 12 January 2025).
[6]India code: Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) act, 2015. (no date) Indiacode. Available at: https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/2148 (Accessed: 12 January 2025).
[7] Garg, R. (2021) Role of juvenile courts in controlling juvenile delinquency, iPleaders. Available at: https://blog.ipleaders.in/role-of-juvenile-courts-in-controlling-juvenile-delinquency (Accessed: 12 January 2025).
[8] Garg, R. (2021) Role of juvenile courts in controlling juvenile delinquency, iPleaders. Available at: https://blog.ipleaders.in/role-of-juvenile-courts-in-controlling-juvenile-delinquency (Accessed: 12 January 2025).
[9] Hariram v. State of rajasthan & Anr,2009 Vol 13 SCC 211.
[10] Jarnail Singh vs State of haryana,2013 Vol AIR 2013 SUPREME COURT 3467 (2013).
