An Analysis of Juvenile Justice System in India

Submitted to:
Mr. Manoj Kumar
(Faculty In-charge of Criminal Justice System)

Submitted by:
Shubhankar Johari
Roll No.: 191
B.A. L.L.B. (HONS.)
Semester VIII
Section: C

Date of Submission: 06.04.2018

Hidayatullah National Law University

Uparwara Post, Abhanpur, New Raipur – 
Raipur –  492002
 492002 (C.G.)
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project work entitled “An Analysis of juvenile justice System in
India” submitted to Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur, is a record of an original
work done by me under the able guidance of Mr. Manoj Kumar, Faculty In-charge, Criminal
Justice System, Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur.

Shubhankar Johari

Roll No.: 191

Section: C

Semester: VIII

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I feel highly elated to work on the topic “An Analysis of juvenile justice System in India”.
This research venture has been made possible due to the generous co-operation of various
 persons. To list them all is not practicable, even to repay them in words is be yond the domain
of my lexicon.

May I observe the protocol to show my deep gratitude to the venerated Mr. Manoj Kumar,
Faculty In-charge, for his kind gesture in allotting me such a wonderful and elucidating
research topic. His consistent supervision, constant inspiration and invaluable guidance have
 been of immense help in understanding and carrying out the nuances of the project report.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2

INTRODUCTION 4

SCOPE OF STUDY 5

OBJECTIVES 5

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 5

‘JUVENILE’ AND ‘JUVENILE IN CONFLICT WITH LAW’ 6

EVOLUTION OF LAW IN INDIA 7

JUVENILE JUSTICE BOARD 9

APPREHENSION AND BAIL 10

SPECIAL TREATMENT OF JUVENILES 11

DETERMINATION OF AGE OF CHILD 12

 NOT KIDS ANYMORE: A NEED FOR DETERRENCE IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE

SYSTEM 13

CONCLUSION 14

REFERENCES 15

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 INTRODUCTION
At one point of time, the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused, Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani
terrorist, had claimed that he was a juvenile and therefore he should be given benefit of the
law relating to juvenile justice in India, notwithstanding the fact that he was involved in a
ghastly terror attack in which 164 persons were killed. However, his claim was found to be
false. The issue of juvenile justice again came upfront in the 16/12/2012 Delhi gang rape case
when one of the accused was found to be a juvenile. The law requires that this can be dealt
only under juvenile justice act and not under the normal criminal laws that apply to adults.
This implies that he cannot be sentenced to imprisonment and cannot be awarded death
 penalty. Due to the strong demand from the society to consider this accused as an adult and
apply the normal criminal laws applicable to an adult, and thus award death penalty and
 because of other similar cases cropping up regularly in the country, we need to take a deep
look into the laws to first understand the juvenile justice system of the country and second, to
see if we can treat juveniles at par with adults while granting punishment for committing such
heinous offences.

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 balanced with the interest of protecting particularly vulnerable members of the society from
violent crimes committed by persons less than 18 years of age and amending the law.

CONCLUSION

Before claiming an amendment, we must think of those unfortunate juveniles who may have
committed certain offences in compelling circumstances. Also, though an amendment is
sought, there is no defined parameter to treat an offence as heinous or grave. Those
demanding a change must first seek to define the particular offences for which such
amendment is sought. Therefore, either extreme is not desirable. A delicate balance must be
struck as per which most juveniles, as a general rule, are required to be treated in a more
humane manner, but in some rarest of the rare cases of heinous and grievous offences
deliberately committed by a juvenile, he may be subjected to prosecution and punishment
under the normal criminal laws of the country. The response to juvenile crime has to be fair,
age-appropriate and in keeping with development psychology. Any amendment to existing
law requires in-depth understanding of the jurisprudence, philosophy and impact of the
current law. Amending the law as a reaction to the countywide outrage against one juvenile
may not serve the purpose as it might affect those other hundreds who are rightfully entitled
to the juvenile justice system already prevailing in the country. Thus, what we require is a
 balanced and thoughtful approach wherein the juveniles who have the mental capacity to
commit grave offences must be punished with exemplary punishments, while those others
committing petty offences and not possessing the mental capacity to do so must be brought
under the veil of juvenile justice system and efforts must be made to rehabilitate them.

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 REFERENCES

BOOKS/ARTICLES REFERRED

WEBSITES

● http://www.wscpedia.org
● http://www.childlineindia.org.in/pdf/CP-JJ-JCL.pdf
● http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/should-the-juvenile-justice-act-be-
amended/article5095898.ece

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