Dr.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL

LAW UNIVERSITY, LUCKNOW

ACADEMIC SESSION:2019-20

OFFENCES AGAINST CHILD AND JUVENILE LAWS

ON

CHALLENGES TO JUVENILE JUSTICE LAWS IN INDIA

Submitted to Submitted by:

Dr. K.A.PANDEY NAINA CHAWLA

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR (LAW) B.A LL.B (Hons.)

DR. RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA 9th SEMESTER

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my humble thanks to Dr.K.A.PANDEY

my subject teacher of OFFENCES AGAINST CHILD AND JUVENILE LAWS, under whose
supervision the project has been made and without whose teachings and insights on the subject,
the project could not have been fructified. I also extend my heartiest thanks to my seniors for
their insights into the concerned project and helping me with everything I asked them. The role
of the Library Department is noteworthy. All the staff members helped me generously in getting
the materials and information I needed to complete the project.

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 INDEX

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….4

WHO IS JUVENILE?..................................................................................4

DEFINITION AND NATRE OF “DELINQUENCY”……………………5

PROVISIONS UNDER INDIAN STATUTES REGARDING THE

JUVENILE JUSTICE LAWS IN INDIA………………………………….5

HISTORY…………………………………………………………………….6

CHALLENGES TO JUVENILE JUSTICE LAWS IN INDIA…………15

CASE OF DARGA RAM V. STATE OF RAJASTHAN………………..16

JUSTICE VERMA COMMITTEE REPORT ON JUVENILE JUSTICE

LAWS IN INDIA……………………………………………………………17

CONCLUSION………..…………………………………………………….19

BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………..20

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INTRODUCTION

The growth of any civilization depends upon its children because they are the future. On the
other hand, there are juvenile delinquents since the beginning of human civilization and in every
time-phase it was decided to treat the cause not the symptoms, that is, to help the juvenile
delinquents to help them through restorative process rather than penalising them, that’s why we
have incorporated juvenile welfare laws in India. Moreover, in India, almost 440 billion children
are below 18 years and it serves as home to 19% of the world’s children1.

WHO IS A JUVENILE?

 According to Rule 4 of United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the

Administration of Juvenile Justice, In those legal systems recognizing the concept of
the age of criminal responsibility for juveniles, the beginning of that age shall not be
fixed at too low an age level, bearing in mind the facts of emotional, mental and
intellectual maturity2.
 United Convention on the Rights of Child defines “child” as “every human being
below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority
is attained earlier3”.
 Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 1986 defines “a juvenile or child, who in
case of a boy has not completed age of 16 years and in case of a girl 18 years of age4”.
 Juvenile Justice(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 defines “juvenile” or
“Child” as a person who has not completed eighteenth year of age5.
 Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act, 2015 defined “child” “means a person who
has not completed 18 years of age6.”

1
Karnika Seth,Protection of Children on Internet,06(Universal Law Publishing Co.Pvt Ltd,New Delhi,2015 edition)
2
“The Beijing Rules”, adopted by General Assembly resolution 40/33 of 29 November 1985.
3
United Convention on the Rights of Child,1989, Article 1.
4
Juvenile Justice(Care & Protection of Children) Act,1986,Section 2(h).
5
Juvenile Justice(Care & Protection of Children) Act,2000,Section 2(k).
6
Juvenile Justice(Care & Protection of Children) Act,2015, Section 2(12).

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DEFINITION AND NATURE OF “DELINQUENCY”

Delinquency is unwelcomed action of a child, which is socially not permitted in the society. A
juvenile delinquent is a disorder which is defined as “a child acting like an adult”. The action of
the child may seem to be very foolish but actually it’s a matter of serious concern. It is believed
that delinquency is considered only when the behaviour of the child is harmful. Frederick B.
Sussmann, who wrote a book on “Law of Juvenile Delinquency” presented a list of acts or
conditions included in delinquency definition as “infringement of any law or ordinance, habitual
absence, alliance with thieves, brutal or immoral persons, and beastly beyond authority of parent
or guardian”.

Causes of Child Delinquency

Juvenile delinquency takes place at different places and it may vary in degree. The child being
the future of the country should be given a good environment in which he/she can nurture
himself/herself. Nowadays, juveniles are engaging in various serious offences like rape, murder,
dacoity, theft, robbery. There are innumerable causes behind the psychic of a delinquent child
which is further defined in two broad categories:

 Biological causes
 Societal and Environmental causes

PROVISIONS UNDER INDIAN STATUTES REGARDING THE

JUVENILE JUSTICE LAWS IN INDIA

Constitutional Provisions

State owes special care and protection towards them and therefore constitution of India has
provided with several rights dealing with their liberty, development and care, non discrimination,
educational rights, etc. It is further supported with comprehensive legal regime. Article 15(3),
which provides the state to make special laws for women and children. Article 39(f) was inserted

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in the Constitution of India by the 42nd Amendment Act, provides that the children are given
opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and
dignity and they must be protected against exploitation and against moral and material
abandonment. Article 47, which imposes a duty on the State to raise the level of nutrition and the
standard of living to improve public health.

Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure(CrPc) Provisions

Indian Penal Code provides different provisions for the protection of child. According to Section
82 of the Indian Penal Code, it says “Nothing is an offence which is done by a child under seven
years of age”. Under the age of 7 years, no infant can be guilty of a crime; for, under that age an
infant is, by presumption of law, doli incapax, and cannot be endowed with any
discretion. Section 83 provides an act of a child above seven and under  twelve of immature
understanding. Where the accused is a child between 7 and 12 years of age, the capacity to
commit an offence only arises when the child has attained sufficient maturity of understanding to
judge the nature and consequences of his conduct. Section 27 of CrPc, provides that any person
who at the date of appearing before the court is under 16 years of age is not punishable with
death or imprisonment for life. According to Section 318 of CrPc where the accused does not
understand the proceedings (though not of unsound mind) the court can have the inquiry or trial,
in case of a court other than High Court if the proceedings result in conviction, the proceedings
shall be forwarded to the High Court with the circumstances of the case  and the High Court shall
pass the order as it thinks fit.

HISTORY

The Apprentices Act, 1850 was the first legislation to deal with children in conflict with law in
India. It provided that children under the age of fifteen who were found guilty of committing
petty offences were to be placed as apprentice in a trade. In 1919, a jail committee was
designated and according to the recommendations of the committee, different legislations were
enacted at different provinces. The first Children Act was the Madras Children Act,
1920 followed by Bengal Children Act, 1922 and Bombay Children Act,1924. In February

6
1924, a voluntary state-aided agency, the Children’s Aid Society, was formed to implement the
provisions of the Bombay Children Act in the Municipal Corporation of Bombay. The
institutions established by the agency for care and protection of children which continue till
date.The first central legislation, The Children Act,1960 was enacted as the model legislation
which was to be followed by the states while enacting their own legislation. The Act provided
for a discriminatory definition of “child” since a boy below 16 years of age was considered to be
a child as opposed to 18 years for a girl child 7. The Act also initiated two distinct bodies to
determine matters involving “children in conflict with law” and “children in need of care” known
as the Children’s Court8 and Child Welfare Board9  respectively. It prohibits imposition of death
penalty, imprisonment, or use of police station or jails for housing children under any
circumstance.

In Spite of all these legislations, the problem still remained the same because several states had
several laws concerning juvenile justice which treated differently in the same situation. There
was no concrete definition of “child”, different state laws recognized child differentl. In Sheela
Barse v. Union of India10, it was held by the Supreme Court:

“..we would suggest that instead of each State having its own Childrens’ Act different in
procedure and content from the Children’s Act in other States, it would be desirable if the
Central Government initiates Parliamentary Legislation on the subject, so that there is complete
uniformity in regard to the various provisions relating to children in the entire territory of the
country. The Children’s Act which may be enacted by Parliament should contain not only
provisions for investigation and trial of offences against children below the age of 16 years but
should also contain mandatory provisions for ensuring social, economic and psychological
rehabilitation of the children who are either accused of offences or are abandoned or destitute or
lost. Moreover, it is not enough merely to have legislation on the subject, but it is equally, if not
more, important to ensure that such legislation is implemented..”.

7
The Children Act,1960, Section 2(e).
8
The Children Act,1960, Section 2(f).
9
The Children Act,1960,Section 4.
10
JT 1986 136, 1986 SCALE (2)230.

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On November,1985 United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile
Justice, was adopted by UN General Assembly, where the term “juvenile” and “juvenile justice”
were used for the first time in the realm of International Law.

Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of children) Act,1986

The Juvenile Justice Act,1986 was the first act regarding the care and protection of children
which was uniform all over the country. While it retained the scheme and primary features of
The Children Act,1960. The age of the juvenile remained the same as it was mentioned in the
Children Act, 1960. The new feature which was introduced under this act was that the juveniles
were divided into two broad categories:

(a) Delinquent Juveniles

(b) Neglected Juveniles.

Both the children were to be kept in “Observation Homes” as long as their inquiries are
pending.The Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 1986 was replaced by Juvenile Justice
(Care & Protection) Act, 2000 because the previous act did not provide the wider scope on
“Delinquent Juveniles” and “Neglected Juveniles”.

Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 2000.

The Juvenile Justice Act,2000 provides two main broad categories named as “child in conflict
with law” and “child in need of care and protection” which the JJA,1986 failed to do. It lays
down that the “child in conflict with law” must be kept in observation homes and “child in need
for care and protection” must be kept in the children home during the pendency of their
proceedings. A revolutionary change made by the JJA, 2000 is the establishment of Children’s
Court known as Juvenile Justice Board(JJB). It constituted of a bench of one Magistrate and two
social workers.Juvenile Justice Board have the jurisdiction to decide:

 Determination of the age of a juvenile.

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  Grant of bail.
 To determine whether the child has committed the alleged offence or not.
 To pass the appropriate orders regarding the same.

International Obligations under Juvenile Justice Act, 2000

The Juvenile Justice Act,2000 supplicate international obligations of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC). There are two kinds of provisions under the CRC for a child in
conflict with law, which is mentioned as:

1. General Provisions- such as Article 27 and Article 6 of the Convention which talks

about the non discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex and language and right
to freely express his/her own feelings.
2. Specific Provisions- such as Article 37 and Article 40 of the Convention. Article
37(a) of the Convention provides capital punishment and long term imprisonment
shall not be imposed on the child.

Challenges to Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 2000

 According to Article 37(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, No child
shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.This provision has not been mentioned under the JJA, 2000 and keeping
in mind, the sad and uncomfortable reality of child abuse, this provision has to be
incorporated.
 Article 40 of the CRC mandates the state to incorporate certain basic guidelines for a
child in conflict with law, but the same has not been incorporated in the JJA, 2000.
Though CrPc and Constitution of India provide laws for the protection of children but
according to JJA, 2000 the laws must be made by the state, thus leaving space for the
state to do unjust and exploit the rights of the child.
 According to Article 40(3)(b) of the Convention, Human Rights and Legal safeguards
are fully respected while dealing with such children. The appointment of JJB consists

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 of one magistrate and two social workers, which in majority can even overrule the
judgment of magistrate, it is not in compliance with the legal safeguards in India by
giving such powers to the social workers (who may not have the legal knowledge).
 According to Section 29 of the Act, the Government “may” form Child Welfare
Committee for the exercise of the powers. The use of the word “may” is a big mistake
because unless the making of rules is made compulsory, the execution of the act will
remain uncertain.
 According to Section 14 of the Act, the inquiry needs to be completed within 4
months from the date of the onset unless it is extended because of some special cases.
Here, the Act fails to justify the “special cases”, thus leaving the scope of arbitrariness
in the hands of Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
 Section 23 of the Act defines for the punishment of cruelty done to the child. As the
punishment prescribed is not deterrent in nature. The potential of fine and punishment
needs to be increased so that it instills fear on the minds of the people.
 Section 63 of the Act provides for the Special Police Unit for the juveniles. But this is
nothing but a mere lip service because there is no guidelines mentioned regarding the
training of the police.

Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 2014

In the case of Mukesh & ors. V. State of Delhi, popularly known as “Delhi Gang Rape” case, a
juvenile, who was few months less to 18 years have been sentenced to 3 years custodial sentence,
however, it was said that he was the active member in the rape case. It outraged the spark
amongst the people and it was contended that there is a need to amend the Juvenile Justice (Care
& Protection) Act, 2000. According to the data collected by the National Crime Record Bureau
cases registered for juveniles under the age of 16-18 year are mentioned as: There were a total of
36,138 cases registered in 2014. Of these cases, the highest pertained to riots (1,733 cases),
kidnapping at rank two (1,635 cases) and cases of rape stood third (1,488 cases).

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Highlights of the Bill

 The Bill replaces the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. It
addresses children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection.
 The Bill permits juveniles between the ages of 16-18 years to be tried as adults for
heinous offences. Also, any 16-18 year old, who commits a lesser, i.e., serious offence,
may be tried as an adult only if he is apprehended after the age of 21 years.
 Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB) and Child Welfare Committees (CWC) will be constituted
in each district. The JJB will conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine whether a
juvenile offender is to be sent for rehabilitation or be tried as an adult. The CWC will
determine institutional care for children in need of care and protection.
 Eligibility of adoptive parents and the procedure for adoption have been included in the
Bill.
 Penalties for cruelty against a child, offering a narcotic substance to a child, and
abduction or selling a child have been prescribed.

Key Issues and Analysis

 There are differing views on whether juveniles should be tried as adults. Some argue that
the current law does not act as a deterrent for juveniles committing heinous crimes.
Another view is that a reformative approach will reduce likelihood of repeating offences.
 The provision of trying a juvenile committing a serious or heinous offence as an adult
based on date of apprehension could violate the Article 14 (right to equality) and Article
21 (requiring that laws and procedures are fair and reasonable). The provision also
counters the spirit of Article 20(1) by according a higher penalty for the same offence, if
the person is apprehended after 21 years of age.
 The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requires all signatory countries to treat
every child under the age of 18 years as equal. The provision of trying a juvenile as an
adult contravenes the Convention.

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  Some penalties provided in the Bill are not in proportion to the gravity of the offence. For
example, the penalty for selling a child is lower than that for offering intoxicating or
psychotropic substances to a child.
 The Standing Committee examining the Bill observed that the Bill was based on
misleading data regarding juvenile crimes and violated certain provisions of the
Constitution.

Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 2015

The Delhi gang rape case have triggered many major changes in the criminal system of India.
Rajya Sabha has passed the Juvenile Justice Bill 2014 after the post of many people in the case
of Nirbhaya where the juvenile convict was released. The government of India replaced the
Juvenile Justice Act 2000 in 15th January 2016. This act helps the children who are in conflict
with laws and protect them from the harsher punishments of the district and high court.

This is an Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to children in need of care and
protection, by catering to their basic needs through development, treatment, and social re-
integration, by adopting a child-friendly approaches. One of the main aim to pass the amendment
was that the minor of age 16-18 years were committing heinous crimes such as rape, etc. The
structure of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 are as follows.

Key features:

 The Juvenile Justice Act divided the crimes into three different categories i.e. the petty
offence, serious offences and heinous offences.
 Juvenile Justice Board to be constituted in every district to deal with children in
conflict with the law. The board comprises of a metropolitan judge and judicial
magistrate with two social workers along with women.
 Excluding the offence of heinous crimes, for all other cases, the juvenile will get the
institutional care for a maximum of three years by the Juvenile Justice Board.
 “A Children’s Court is a Sessions Court notified under the Commissions for
Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. For this Bill, once a juvenile is referred by a

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 Juvenile Justice Board to a Children’s Court it will determine whether to try him as
an adult or else recommend counseling, stay at observation home, etc.11”

  The other major changes in the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 are:

Firstly, the minor accused of age more than sixteen should present before the Juvenile Justice
Board and then the Board will decide whether to send the Juvenile for trial as an adult or to send
an accused to the rehabilitation center. This method is judged on the mental and physical ability
of the child.

Secondly, the act of juvenile justice treats a minor of age sixteen-eighteen years as an adult if he
has committed any heinous crime in a conflict of the law. Minor who have committed a serious
offence may be tried as an adult only if he is apprehended after the age of twenty-one years.

 If a minor of age seventeen years or more committed a serious offence and had been
apprehended before twenty-one years of age, then the prescribed punishment is
maximum three years in a special home with counselling.
 If a minor who committed a serious crime who is apprehended after the age of twenty-
one years then the punishment will be tried as an adult and the imprisonment of three
to seven years have been prescribed.
 If the minor of age seventeen have committed a heinous crime and has been
apprehended below the age of twenty-one year then the prescribed punishment is
based on evaluation of mental and physical capacity, etc., may be tried as a child
(max. three years) or adult (more than seven years)
 If the minor committed heinous offence and apprehended after the age of twenty-one
year, then the case will be tried as an adult and imprisonment of 7 years and above is
prescribed.

http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Juvenile%20Justice/Legislative%20Brief%20Juvenile%20Justice
11

%20Bill.pdf

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Thirdly,  “A new clause on fair trial is added, under which the assessment will look into the
special needs of the child, under the tenet of a fair trial under a child-friendly atmosphere. 12”
Fourthly, no life-imprisonment or death sentence to a juvenile.

Fifthly, the inquiry of the case should be completed within four months of the first production of
the child in the Juvenile Justice Board. This can be extended for the maximum of two more
months by recording the reason in writing.

Sixthly, the assessment of the heinous crime should be disposed of within 60 days from the first
production of the child before the juvenile justice board.

Seventhly,  “inter-country adoption allowed if adoption cannot take place within the country,
within 30 days of the child being declared legally free for adoption.”

Eighthly, if the biological parents want to give their child for adoption, then they have given a
chance to rethink about their decision for three months instead of one month.

Ninthly, “any child who has been abandoned by biological parents due to unavoidable
circumstances will not be considered to be willfully giving up the child.”

12
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-14-notable-amendments-to-the-juvenile-justice-

act-2084147

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CHALLENES TO JUVENILE JUSTICE LAWS IN INDIA

 Section 4(2)(viii) provides child in need of care and protection for those who have been
tortured, abused and exploited for the purpose of sexual abuse. The section provides
protection for children but ignores the one who have faced the sexual abuse in the past. It
grossly affects the mind of the child which leads to social stigma.
 According to Section 2(5) defines the word “aftercare” to provide them financial support
to persons who have completed the age of 18 years but are less than 21 years of age. But
the following problems could have enumerated against the proper results of after-care
institutions:

1. Lack of finances.
2. Stigma in institualization.
3. Unconsciousness of society towards the after care programme.
4. Non compliance of parents in the after care plan.
5. A little inter-relationship between the juveniles and the after-care workers.

 According to Section 21 of the Act, after attaining the age of 21, the Children’s Court
may decide if the child has undergone the reformative changes and needs to be released
or he should be transferred to a jail. This provision is in violation of article 20(1) of the
Indian Constitution and also by keeping a 21 year old adult with hardened criminals will
make a child like them and this will not serve the purpose of Reformative Theory.
 According to Section 16 of the Act, the heinous offence committed by a child who has
completed the age of 16 years, the Juvenile Justice Board shall conduct the inquiry about
the physical and mental state of the child and then only the Board will decide whether to
dispose off the case or to start a trial. The foremost flaw with the section is it implies an
assumption that the child is guilty of an offence and a clear infringement of Article 14
and 21 as prescribed under Part III of the Indian Constitution, as the procedure is
arbitrary and irrational.

THE CASE OF DARGA RAM V. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

15
The facts of the case are as follows:

The Complainant had organized the jagran somewhere in the outskirts of the village in
Rajasthan. Around 50 persons including men,women and children were there till midnight
including 7 year old Kamala (victim) and Darga Ram(appellant). Kamala went to sleep along
with other children in a nearby place. When the complainant i.e the father of the victim came to
the house he found Kamala missing. Assuming that she may have gone to the relative’s home, a
search was made at their houses but Kamala was not been found. The search was then extended
in the outskirts of the village and it was found dead by one of the member of the village. On
further inquiry, it was found that Kamala had been raped and killed by crushing her head with
the stone. A case under Section 302 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code was registered. The police
further investigated and arrested Darga Ram who was a deaf, dumb and an illiterate adolescent
on the basis of the injuries found on his private part along with blood stains which matched the
blood group of the victim (Kamala).

The Sessions Court and the High Court convicted the appellant under section 302 and 376 of IPC
and awarded the punishment of life imprisonment.On the final appeal the appellant raised the
additional plea of juvenility on the date of the commencement of the crime.

Since the appellant was illiterate and did not have any documentary evidence like school or any
other certificate. So the court has directed the Medical College, Jodhpur for medical examination
of the appellant. After all the procedure done the age of the appellant was found between 33 to
36 years.

The apex court submitted that there was enough explanation for the determination of age on the
basis of medical examination as per Section 7A of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 which provides
that whenever it is contended that the accused was a juvenile on the date of the commission of an
offence, the court shall make and inquiry and take such evidence as may be necessary to
determine the age of the child and Rule 12(3)(b) of the Juvenile Justice Rule,2007, which says in
the absence of matriculation certificate, birth certificate from the school and birth certificate from
the municipal corporation, medical report will be considered from the Medical Board to

16
determine the age of the Juvenile.However, the lower court ordered the life imprisonment which
the appellant had already suffered for 4 years. The appellant’s hearing and speech impairments
never attracted Section 2(d)(iii)13 of the JJA, 2000 which protects physically and mentally
challenged children.

In the case of Kulai Ibrahim v. State of Coimbatore 14 , the court held that the juvenile at any
point of time during the trial has the right to raise the question of juvenility even after the
disposal of the case under proviso of section 9 of Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

In Raj Singh v. State of Haryana 15, the juvenile who was less than 16 years of age at the time of
the commencement of the offence was convicted under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs &
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and was awarded with the punishment of imprisonment. But
the Supreme Court held that under section 2(e) of the Juvenile Justice(Care & Protection) Act,
1986 defines that a juvenile who has been found to guilty of an offence was a juvenile, hence the
entire trial was quashed.

JUSTICE VERMA COMMITTEE REPORT ON JUVENILE

JUSTICE LAWS IN INDIA

According to Justice Verma Committee report on “Amendments to Criminal Law” has noted that
“the Juvenile Justice Act has failed miserably to protect the children in the country. We cannot
hold the child responsible for a crime before providing to him/her the basic rights given to them
by the Indian Constitution.’’ the report looked extensively on the children homes and found them
lacking in basic infrastructural requirements, where they are forced to grow and becomes the
prey of “sexual offences”. The juvenile homes are unable to provide the basic constitutional
rights which are mentioned for the children under the Indian Constitution. The nutritional,
emotional, mental requirements are so low that they often not be able to cope up and contribute
to the society.

13
who is mentally or physically challenged or ill children or children suffering from terminal diseases or incurable
diseases having no one to support or look after.
14
AIR 2014 SC 2726
15
(2000) 6 SCC 759.

17
Recommendations

With all due respect to the existing law, the following recommendations are made:

 The court should approach reformative approach towards the child delinquency rather
than the punitive one. The state should try to create such an environment so as to re-
integrate the delinquent with the mainstream of the society.
 State should not be given so much power so as to make the law regarding the Juvenile
Justice Act, rather more power should be given to the International Conventions and
CrPc, so that the purpose of the JJA should be attained.
 The Juvenile Justice board is of great importance and hence a special training
programme in child psychology should be conducted for the members of the JJB
including the Magistrate.
 The Magistrate should not be engaged in any other work except for juvenile cases so
as to complete the inquiry within 4 months.
 Children Homes are meant for both “child in conflict with law” as well as “child in
need for care and affection”. It is important to separate homes for both the categories
of children not only on papers but also on the ground level.
 The homes for children should be under the CCTV surveillance so as to facilitate the
inspection process by the board along with the surprise visits.

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 CONCLUSION

According to the National Crime Records Bureau Report, 2015 on “Juveniles in Conflict with
Law” Out of the total juveniles apprehended in various crimes, 4,757 were illiterate and 14,229
had education up to primary level. These two categories together accounted for 45.9% of the
total juveniles apprehended during the year 2015. Children living with parents have accounted
for 85.6% (35,448 out of 41,385) of the total juveniles apprehended16. The share of homeless
children who were involved in various crimes was just 3.9% (1,622 out of 41,385). Going
through the data of NCRB, there is a need to first properly implement the existing policies which
the Government has made for the benefit of children like the mid-day meal policy, Samagra
Shiksha (recently added by the Union Budget 2018-2019).

Also, according to the National Crime Records Bureau Report, 2015, the data shown below
depicts that most of the juvenile delinquents were found between the age group of 16 to 18 years.

Reducing the age of the juvenile delinquents from 18 years to 16 years as mentioned in Juvenile
Justice (Care & Protection) Act, 2015 is not a solution. It is appreciable that the Indian
Legislature has tried to fulfill the obligations as mentioned under the Convention, the
government should try to implement the Act properly and also they should follow the
reformative approach and try to engage juveniles in some skilled work so that they can lead a
peaceful life afterwards.

16
 http://ncrb.gov.in/StatPublications/CII/CII2015/chapters/Chapter%2010-15.11.16.pdf

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-346-laws-and-policies-for-protection-of-
interest-of-children-a-critical-analysis.html (Laws and Policies for Protection of
Interest of Children: A Critical Analysis)

 https://blog.ipleaders.in/juvenile-justice-2/#_ftn36 (Challenges to Juvenile Justice Laws

in India)

 https://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/juvenile-justice-care-and-protection-children-
amendment-bill-2018 (The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)
Amendment Bill, 2018)
 http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Juvenile%20Justice/Legislative%20Brief
%20Juvenile%20Justice%20Bill.pdf (The Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of
Children) Bill, 2014)

 https://blog.ipleaders.in/juvenile-justice-system-india/ (An Analytical Study of Juvenile

Justice System in India)

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