Juvenile Criminal Process In India
Juvenile Criminal Process In India
Author : Mrinal Kedar
Introduction:
When you think about children, all it comes to mind are innocent smiling faces or some naughty tricks and children playing in the playground. But the idea that children could commit any crime let alone any heinous crime doesn’t even cross the back of your mind. It is because in our mind adults are capable of such crimes whereas children are the angels who cannot even think of doing such a bad thing. Well, there are instances where children were found guilty of such crimes and were brought to justice by the juvenile laws in our country.
The Latin term Doli incapax means “Incapability of a child of forming the intent to commit a crime.” which is explained thoroughly in Section 82 & 83 of the Indian Penal Code, Section 82 of the IPC says that “Any act of a child under the age of 7 years is not an offence” and Section 83 says that ” Any act of a child above the age of 7 years and below the age of 12 years is not an offence”. This means that if a child between the age of 7 to 12 commits a crime he/she will not be held liable for that offence under the Indian Penal Code. It is because in law it is believed that children between that age group have not attained complete maturity and so may have no clue about the consequences of their action. Although, if it appears to the court that the child even though under the age of 7 years is capable to discern between good and bad or has an idea about the consequences of their action then they may be convicted and suffer sentence. It is called Doli capax, where the child is capable of committing a crime.
Who is a Juvenile?
The word “Juvenile” arises in the Latin word “Juvenis” that means young. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, juvenile means “relating to a young person who is not yet old enough to be considered an adult.”In an Indian frame of reference, it is said that a juvenile is any person who is under the age of 18 years. But as mentioned earlier, in the IPC it is considered that a child between the age of 7 to 12 cannot be held liable for the offences committed by he/she.
Children are the greatest asset for the future. They not only epitomize the nation but also the promising future of the country. Yet the more worrying topic is the percentage of offences perpetrated by juveniles to total offences promulgated in India has grown in the last few years.
What is Juvenile Delinquency?
Juvenile delinquency or as it is now known as Juvenile crime means “the participation of a minor or an underage person in an illegal act.”. In India, Juvenile delinquency means any criminal activity or anti-social activity executed by a minor (for boys it is below the age of 16 years and for girls, it is below the age of 18 years) which violates the law. It is observed that the children having problems at home or children who face abuse are more likely to find as a gateway from their problems, which means that the primary cause of Juvenile delinquency lies in the disturbing childhood that some of the children face.
Causes of Juvenile Delinquency:
Adolescence Vulnerability: – Teenage hood or adolescence is the next stage in any humans life after childhood. This is a stage where teenagers get more alert about their looks, behaviour, social status, etc. This is also the age when they crave for more freedom and independence but this is also the time when their parents become vigilant about them and want them to be careful of their choices which can lead to some conflict and developing anti-social behaviour. Consequently, this anti-social behaviour, physiological changes, mental conditions make them more prone to juvenile delinquency.
Dysfunctional Families: – If a child is raised in an unhealthy, dysfunctional family then that can also cause juvenile delinquency. In some situations, separation of parents, absence of parental control, scarcity of affection and affections are the major constituents of juvenile delinquency.
Financial Instability: – Sometimes financial problems in the household can also contribute towards juvenile delinquency. If parents or guardians can’t fulfil the needs of their child, the child in his endeavour to fulfil his desire might end up stealing money from home or outside and can develop a tendency to steal as long as his desires are fulfiled.
Migration: – Migration of abandoned and poor juveniles’ boys to slum areas might bring them in connection with some people who are not a good influence on society and who are related to some illegal activities like prostitution, smuggling of drugs etc. These kinds of ventures interest the juvenile a lot and they may associate themselves in such pursuits.
Sexual Assault:- The children who have encountered sexual assault or some kind of undesired physical abuse in their early adolescence may incur any manner of awfulness in their conduct and mind. In this age, they may become more idlers or may require to have sexual practice. Too much of sex variance may influence the boys towards the offence of abduction and rapes etc.
Modern Living Habit: – Due to the rapidly changing social life of people and modern changes in the lifestyle has also made it difficult for teenagers to fit in between their peers. For that purpose, they might be inclined towards Juvenile crime.
Juvenile Justice System in India:
The Juvenile justice system in India finds its roots in:
Various articles in the Indian Constitution i.e Articles 15(3), 39 (e) & (f), 45 and 47,
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and
the UN Standard Minimum Rules for Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules).
In India, the Act that deals with juvenile crimes are called The Juvenile (Care and Protection) Act, 2015 and according to Section 2(12) of the Juvenile (Care and Protection) Act, 2015, ” a ‘child’ means a person who has not completed 18 years of age”, whereas Section 13 and 14 classify the term child into two categories:
Section 13: Child in conflict with the law- any child who has committed an offence or crime.
Section 14: Child in need of care and protection- any child who was found to be without a home, abused, exploited, mentally ill, etc.
The Juvenile (Care and Protection) Act, 2015 came into existence after replacing the juvenile delinquency law and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000/2006. The Act of 2015 renders that the children within the age group of 16-18 be adjudicated as adults for heinous crimes. The three types of crimes specified by the latest Act are:
heinous offence- an offence that attracts a minimum penalty of seven years imprisonment under any existing law,
serious offence- an offence that attracts imprisonment between three to seven years and,
petty offence- that attracts imprisonment with up to three years.
Before this amendment, the Juvenile Justice Act of 2000 provided that any child who commits a crime regardless of the crime should not be tried as an adult and should spend a maximum of 3 years in institutional care.
The reason behind amending the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 was the incident that occurred in 2012, the Delhi Gang Rape also known as the Nirbhaya case. One of the accused in this case was a juvenile (just months away from becoming a major or 18 years of age) and at that time he was as a juvenile in juvenile court.
Then a Public Interest Litigation was filed by a BJP politician, Mr Subramaniam Swami in 2013 in the Supreme Court of India asking their support that the juvenile should be tried in a regular court of law as an adult. The three-Judge Bench of the Supreme Court including Chief Justice P.Sathasivam and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Shiva Kirti Singh denied interfering with the age of juvenility in cases where juveniles are pronounced liable of heinous crimes. The court, in this case, opined that the provisions of juvenile justice complied the articles in the constitution and the directives given by the international conventions. The Supreme Court ordered the Juvenile Justice Board to determine the most helpful benefit of the minor as per law. Consequently, the juvenile justice board convicted the said juvenile to remain in a Reform Home for 3 years.
This verdict given by Supreme Court was scrutinised by the society including the mother of the victim, saying that by not punishing the juvenile as an adult, the court is boosting other such teenagers to commit heinous crimes without any fear of punishment. Being unsatisfied with the verdict given by the court, the Ministry of Women and Child Development prepared a new draft to amend the juvenile justice Act,2000, allowing children below the age group of 16-18 years of age to be tried as adults/majors if held liable of committing any serious/heinous crimes such as sexual assault, rape, theft, etc so that in future if any child thinks about committing heinous crimes they should know about the consequences to their actions.
The government consequently introduced the Juvenile Justice Bill in August 2014 in Lok Sabha citing several grounds to support the necessity for different law. Other than the reason stated above, the Ministry stated that the current Juvenile Justice Act, 2000/2006 was also facing some implementation concerns, procedural setbacks about adoption, growing amount of abuses toward children in establishments, incompetent amenities, state of care and recovery steps in shelters and that there are ineffectual terms to counter aggression against minors such as corporal punishment, etc which highlighted the obligation to examine the current law. The government also cited the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data saying that there has been an escalation in offences perpetrated by juveniles, especially by those in the age group of 16-18 years. NCRB data reveals that the rate of juvenile crimes, when seen in relationship to total crimes, has grown from 1% in 2003 to 1.2% in 2013. During the same time, a division of all juveniles accused of crimes expanded from 54% to 66%.
Penalties for crimes committed against Children In the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015:
Various penalties are given under the JJ Act, 2015 for the protection of juveniles from the criminal offences committed against them. Those offences include Child Trafficking, selling children as slaves, sex workers, etc, giving children intoxicating material such as drugs and alcohol, selling them such intoxicating materials. There are also penalties against offences such as physical cruelty against abled and disabled children, kidnapping, abduction, etc.
Conclusion:
Children are the future of this nation and if that future is misguided then the nation is also misguided. The increasing crime rate amongst youngsters is very concerning and sad. Although with the right laws and measures in place it can be assumed that the children will understand that there are consequences behind every action. The Juvenile Justice System now laid in our country might still be a work in progress but if it goes in the right direction one day there will be less juvenile crimes and lesser crimes committed against children.
