YOUTH ON TRIAL : LATEST CHANGES IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT
INTRODUCTION
The Juvenile Justice Act(Care and Protection of Children) 2015 is the major legal framework or text on child protection in India and guarantees the security the protection and education, wellbeing of the children and help them to get back to society as a normal adult person. This also focuses on the enquiry to be caried out in the situation of vulnerability of a child which require a placement in a children’s home.
WHAT IS JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT
The Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) act 2015 deals with the provisions for children who are in conflict with the law of India. This act defines the legal framework in which juveniles (below 18 years of age) can appear before a court. Juvenile justice act also mentions the provision for the children in need of care and protection i.e. victims of the crime that took place. Thus it is important to note that the juveniles in conflict with law must be distinguished from the children who are in need of care and protection. But one thing that Is common i.e. justice to be done for both the sides of juveniles whether it’s a victim or accused, both should have fair chance of justice. This act comes under the ministry of women and child development.
According to the Law, Juvenile Justice act is an act to combine and amend the law relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection by catering to their basic needs through proper care, protection, development, treatment, social , re-integration, by adopting a child friendly approach in the adjudication and disposal of matters in the best interest of children and for their rehabilitation through processes provided and institution and bodies established herein under and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
UNDERSTANDING JUVENILE DELIQUENCY AND POCSO: IMPACT ON YOUTH AND SOCIETY.
Juvenile delinquency, the involvement of minors in illegal activities, is pressing issue that affects not only the individuals involved but also society as whole. In recent years, legal framework like Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) act have been put in place to address and combat these issues. Understanding the inter relation between Juvenile Delinquency and POCSO, and the broader impact on youth and society is crucial for creating effective intervention and support systems.
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY:
Juvenile delinquency refers to illegal or antisocial behavior by minors. This can range from petty crimes to more serious crimes such as theft assault or drug trafficking, rape.
The factors leading to Juvenile delinquency are complex and multifaceted including:
- Family Environment: Neglect, abuse, and dysfunctional family dynamics can significantly contribute to delinquent behavior.
- Socioeconomic Status: Poverty and lack of access to resources often correlate with higher rates of delinquency.
- Peer Influence: Adolescents are highly influenced by their peer groups. Negative peer pressure can lead to engagement in criminal activities.
- Mental Health Issues: Conditions like conduct disorder, ADHD, or trauma can predispose youth to delinquent behavior.
THE POCSO ACT: PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES:
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, enacted in India in 2012, is a landmark legislation designed to safeguard children from sexual abuse and exploitation. Key features of the POCSO Act include:
- Definition of Offences: The Act covers a broad range of sexual offenses, including penetration, non-penetrative sexual acts, and sexual harassment.
- Child-Friendly Procedures: It mandates child-friendly procedures during investigations and trials, ensuring that the child's dignity is upheld.
- Mandatory Reporting: The Act requires that any person who knows of an offense against a child must report it, ensuring greater accountability and protection.
IMPACT ON YOUTH AND SOCIETY:
For the youth involved, the consequences of engaging in delinquent behavior, especially sexual offenses, are profound:
- Legal Consequences: Juveniles found guilty of sexual offenses under the POCSO Act face severe legal repercussions. Even though they are minors, the stigma and legal penalties can have long-lasting effects on their lives.
- Psychological Impact: Being involved in or being a victim of sexual offenses can lead to severe psychological trauma. Victims may experience depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while perpetrators may struggle with their own psychological issues and societal rejection.
- Educational Disruption: Legal troubles and psychological trauma can disrupt a youth's education, impacting their future opportunities and personal development.
The repercussions of juvenile delinquency and sexual offenses extend beyond the individual to affect society at large:
- Social Cohesion: High rates of juvenile delinquency can undermine social cohesion and trust within communities. When sexual offenses are involved, the societal impact is even more severe, as it challenges the safety and protection of children.
- Economic Costs: The financial burden of addressing juvenile delinquency and sexual offenses can be significant. This includes costs associated with legal proceedings, rehabilitation programs, and the long-term economic impact on victims.
- Public Health: Sexual offenses and their consequences often lead to a public health concern, including mental health support for victims and the need for preventative education programs.
WHY JUVENILE JUSTICE CAME INTO PICTURE
The first legislation on juvenile justice in India came in 1850 which required that children between the ages of 10-18 convicted in courts to be provided vocational training as part of their rehabilitation process. This act was transplanted by the Reformatory Schools Act, 1897 subsequently provided that children up to age of 15 may be sent to reformatory cell, and later the Juvenile Justice Act 1986 provided a uniform mechanism of Juvenile Justice. This act was replaced by Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000. The Act was in force in most of the States, especially in those States where Children Acts were in operation. The Act has since been repealed by the Apprentices Act, 1961.
Different stages of legislation
Juvenile justice act 1986
With the adoption of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the administration of the Juvenile Justice, India was the first country to evolve its system in the light of the principles enunciated therein.
Objectives of the act:
- Uniform legal framework for Juvenile Justice,
- to provide towards a specialized approach towards the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency,
- to establish norms and standards for the administration of Juvenile Justice,
- to develop appropriate linkages and coordination between the formal system and voluntary agencies
Juvenile Justice Act 2000
The Juvenile Justice Act 1986 required that the pre-existing system built around the implementation of the then-available Children’s Acts be restructured. However, due to the absence of a national consensus on the time frame for such a restructuring, the steps taken by most of the State Governments were still heavily short of the proclaimed goals. In order to rationalize and standardize the approach towards juvenile justice in keeping with the relevant provisions of the Constitution of India and International obligations in this regard, the Government of India (re)enacted the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of the Children) Act,2000.
Juvenile Justice Act 2015
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with Law and children in need of care and protection by catering to their basic needs through proper care, protection, development, treatment, social re-integration, by adopting a child-friendly approach in the adjudication and disposal of matters in the best interest of children and for their rehabilitation through process provided, and institutions and bodies established, herein under and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• It is enacted by the Parliament of India.
• Date enacted: 7th May 2015(Lok Sabha), 22nd December 2015 (Rajya Sabha).
• Introduced by Maneka Gandhi, Ministry of Women and Child Development Additional information.
• Under the Act, the offences committed by a juvenile are categorized into
three classes: -
- Petty Offences: It includes the offences for which maximum punishment under the Indian Penal Code or any other law is imprisonment up to three years.
- Serious Offences: It includes the offences for which punishment under the Indian Penal Code or any other law is imprisonment between three to seven years.
- Heinous Offences: It includes the offences for which minimum punishment under the Indian Penal Code or any other law is imprisonment of seven years or more.
Objective of Juvenile Justice Act
- To ensure that every child enjoys his Rights.
- To stay on protection and care of children without facing harassment or abuse.
- To ensure swiftly and productively reintegrated into the society in case he was found to be in conflict with law.
- To streamlining the central adoption agency
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, was enacted with the foundation of several constitutional provisions that emphasize the welfare and protection of children:
• Article 15(3) of the Constitution permits the State to make special provisions for the welfare of women and children. This clause acknowledges the need to tailor laws to address the unique needs of children.
• Article 39(e) of the Constitution underscores the importance of safeguarding the health and well-being of workers, including children, to ensure they are not subjected to unsuitable or harmful working conditions due to economic necessity.
• Article 39(f) emphasizes the necessity of providing children with opportunities and facilities for their healthy development in an environment of freedom and dignity. It also aims to protect children from exploitation and abandonment, both morally and materially.
• Article 45 obligates the State to make efforts to provide free and compulsory education for all children up to the age of fourteen. This article recognizes the significance of education in shaping the future of children.
• Article 47 highlights the State's responsibility to improve public health and raise the standard of living, emphasizing the prohibition of the consumption of intoxicating drinks and harmful drugs, except for medicinal purposes. This provision is crucial in ensuring the well-being of children by addressing issues related to substance abuse.
• The Juvenile Justice Act of 2015 takes inspiration from these constitutional provisions to create a legal framework that prioritizes the care, protection, and development of children. It recognizes the unique vulnerabilities of children and aims to provide them with a safe and nurturing environment in line with the principles enshrined in the Indian Constitution.
Changes in the Juvenile Justice Act
- The bill allows for juveniles 16 years or older to be tried as adults for heinous offences like rape and murder. Heinous offences are those which are punishable with imprisonment of seven years or more
- The Act mandates setting up Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees in every district. Both must have at least one woman member each
- The Act also deals with adoption of children and lays down the eligibility criteria for adoptive parents. Central adoptive resource Agency [CARA] frames the rules for adoption, which state and district level agencies implement.
- Child Care institution (CCIs) : all the child care institution, whether run by the state government or by voluntary or non-governmental organizations are to be mandatorily registered under the cat within 6 months from the date of commencement of the act.
Criteria under the Juvenile Justice Act
- Mental & physical capacity has to be seen.
- Ability to understand consequences after the crime has been committed.
- Circumstances will be seen that whether child below 18 years knows about consequences or not. JJB in each district will see and then JJB can try child as adult. Then case is transferred to children’s court and court has to decide that whether the decision on JJB is correct or not.
- Then and only after those 2 above stages child can be considered as minor or juvenile.
The bill introduced concepts from the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption, 1993 which were missing in the previous act. The bill also seeks to make the adoption process of orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children more streamlined
Certain Definitions mentioned in Juvenile Justice Act, Ministry of Women and Children Development, and CARA guidelines.
- Juvenile:- it means a child below the age of 18 years;
- Orphan:- it means a child-
1. who is without biological or adoptive parents or legal guardian; or
2. Whose legal guardian is not willing to take, or capable of taking care of the child;
- .Special home:-it means an intuition established by a state government or by a voluntary or non-governmental organization, registered under section 48, for housing and providing rehabilitative services to children in conflict with law, who are found, through inquiry, to have committed an offense and are sent to such institution by an order of the Board.
- Abandoned child:- means a child deserted [ wilful abandonment] by biological or adoptive parents or guardians, who has been declared as abandoned by the committee after due inquiry; abandoned by the committee after due inquiry;
- Adoption:- adoption means the process through which the adopted child is permanently separated from his biological parents and becomes the lawful child of his adoptive parents with all the rights ,privileges and responsibilities that are attach to a biological child
- Authority: - authority means the central adoption resource authority constituted under section 68.
- Child:- it means a person who has not completed 18 years of age;
- Child in conflict with law:- it means a child who is alleged or found to have committed an offence and who has not completed 18 years of age on the date of commission of such offence;
- District Child Protection Unit:- it means a child protection unit for a district, established by the state government under section 106, which is the focal point to ensure the implementation of this Act and other child protection measures in the district; purpose of alternate care in the domestic environment of a family, other than the child’s biological family, that has been selected, qualified, approved and supervised for providing such care;
- .Foster family:- it means a family found suitable by the district child protection unit to keep children in foster care under section 44;
- Guardian:-in relation to a child, means his/her natural guardian or any other person having, in the opinion of the committee or, as the case may be, the board, the actual charge of the child, and recognised by the committee or, as the case may be, the Board as guardian in the course of proceedings;
JUVENILE JUSTICE AMENDMENT BILL 2021;
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill 2021 which aims to improve and simplify the laws pertaining to child adoption and protection was recently approved by the Lok Sabha. With regard to improve to children in legal trouble and children in need of care and protection the bill changes the juvenile justice (care and protection of children) act 2015.
Need for the amendment
- Even after the 2015 amendment was implemented 39% of Child Care Institution (CCIs) , 90% of which are managed by NGOs were not registered according to NCPCR 2020 audit.
- It was also discovered that in many states less than 20% of CCIs has not been established particularly for girls.
- Furthermore, 15% of homes lack separate bedrooms and nutrition programs, 10% lack drinking water and 3/5 lack toilets.
- It is allegedly the case that children are maintained in childcare facilities solely for financial gain with little regard for the rehabilitation of the residents.
Principal changes the bill is trying to make:
- Serious offences : these include offences foe which a minimum sentence of less than seven years in prison is prescribed and for which a maximum sentence of more than seven years in prison is imposed. A juvenile who is charged with a major offence is investigated by the juvenile justice board
- Unrecognizable crimes : according to the current act, an offence that carries a sentence of 3 to 7 years in prison is both non-bailable and cognizable in situation when an arrest is made without a warrant. This is amended by the bill to state that these offences will not be recognized.
- Adoption : at the moment the court adoption orders certifies that the adopted parents are the childs legal parents. According to the bill, the District magistrate, including the Additional Magistrate, will issue these adoption orders rather than the court.
- Appeals : according to the bill, anyone who feels wringed by a district magistrate adoption order as 30 days from the date the order was passed to submit appeals with the divisional commissioner. These appeals must be resolved within four weeks of appeals filiing date.
- Extra duties of magistrate :
(i) overseeing the district child protection unit
(ii) carrying out a quarterly assessment of the child welfare committees operation.
- Designated court : the bill suggests using children’s court to hear cases pertaining to any offences under the previous act
- Child welfare committees (CWCs) : a person cant be a member of the CWC if they have a history of violating human rights or child rights, have been convicted of a serious crime, have been fired from a job with the central or state government, or are involved in running a child care facility in the area.
- Removal of members : the state government can terminate any committee member after an investigation if they miss 3 months of meetings in a row without a good excuse or if they attend less than 75% of the meetings in a year.
WHAT IS THE CONCERN ASSOCIATED WITH THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AMENDMENT ACT 2021?
The amendment is being questioned is the one that changes Section 86 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which now classifies certain crimes under this special law, carrying penalties of three to seven years, as non-cognizable. Victims often can’t report these crimes themselves due to power dynamics, so most reports come from parents or organizations like child rights groups and Child Welfare Committees (CWC). The parents, who are usually daily wage workers, often don’t know how to report these incidents or simply don’t want to get involved with the legal system. Engaging in legal proceedings means they’d have to take time off work, which would lead to lost income. On the other hand, CWCs typically prefer to “discuss and settle” issues rather than escalate them to the police. By making these crimes non-cognisable, along with other serious offenses under the special law, it will only complicate the process of reporting these incidents to the authorities.
CONCLUSION
The juvenile justice system is constantly changing to meet the unique needs of young offenders while trying to balance rehabilitation with public safety. Recent updates to the Juvenile Justice Act show a deeper understanding of these issues and mark a big step toward modernizing the system.
Key Recent Changes
- Emphasis on Rehabilitation Instead of Punishment: The new amendments focus on helping juveniles reintegrate into society as contributing members rather than just punishing them. This approach understands that young people are still developing, so the focus should be on fostering their growth and potential for change.
- Tailored Approaches Based on Age and Severity of Offense: The revised rules differentiate between various types of juvenile offenders, customizing responses based on their age and the seriousness of their crimes. This thoughtful approach ensures that interventions are suitable and effective, taking into account both the crime's severity and the offender's developmental stage.
- Improved Protections for Children in Legal Trouble: The latest changes have added stronger protections for juveniles during legal processes. These include child-friendly procedures, enhanced legal representation, and mental health support, all designed to reduce trauma and ensure fair treatment.
- Increased Focus on Victim Support: The updates also take into account the needs of victims, offering better support and protection. This includes addressing the trauma victims face and making sure their voices are heard throughout the legal process.
- Looking Ahead
The evolving Juvenile Justice Act shows a commitment to building a fairer and more effective system for dealing with youth in legal trouble. By prioritizing rehabilitation, recognizing the developmental differences between young people and adults, and improving protections for both offenders and victims, the system is moving in a positive direction
REFERENCES
https://pib.gov.in/newsite/printrelease.aspx?relid=134513