UNIT : 4

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
Qtn. Critically examine the various causes of Juvenile
Delinquency in India and Amendments to the Juvenile
Justice Act, 2015

SYNOPSIS:-
1) INTRODUCTION
2) MAIN CAUSES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
3) MEANING AND CONCEPT OF JUVENILE
DELINQUENCY
4) VARIOUS MEASURES TO PREVENT JUVENILE
DELINQUENCY -
5) HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND ORIGIN OF
THE ACT
6) INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS
7) DEFINITION
8) AMENDMENTS TO THE JUVENILE JUSTICE
ACT, 2015
9) CASE STUDY
10) CONCLUSION

1) INTRODUCTION –
The problem of juvenile delinquency is of a recent origin.
But at present it has become one of the most important
social problems which has attracted the attention of all
criminologist. It exhibits a specific pattern of behaviour. It
involves wrong doing by a child or by a young person who
is below the age of 18 years. As regards the offences of
juvenile delinquents, we find variation from country to
country.

The juvenile delinquency is one of the most important

social problems which concerned interest of the society. In
India, juvenile delinquency is state subject. The children’s
Acts of various state provide for necessary machinery such
as Juvenile Courts, child welfare boards, remand homes etc.
A delinquent child of today can become a harden criminal of
tomorrow hence, specific attention has been given to the
protection of children. The child must be given the means
requisite for its normal development. The child must be put
in position to earn a livelihood and must be protected against
every form of exploitation. A child must be first to receive
relief in times of distress.

2)MAIN CAUSES OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

There are various opinions regarding the causes of
juvenile delinquency. The patterns of delinquent behaviour
arise in the texture of modern society i.e. city life,
population mobility, social and economic development,
family instability etc.
a. Family Conditions - Hobbies, conduct and behavior of
Juvenile depends upon family circumstances. Children
belong to educated and highly qualified families hardly do
crimes. Generally Juvenile delinquents are belonging to
poor backward and uneducated families. The main reason is
that the set up and circumstances of their families will be
quite often bad.
b. Physical reasons - Child having one eye or one ear or
any such kind of physical defects he normally suffers from
inferiority complex. Generally society insult such a child.
Due to this continues insult by the society he may become
criminal.
c. Psychological Reasons - When the child is insulted,
neglected or tortured by the family members, the mind of the
child will be affected by the sudden shock. Such a child
having some sort of unsound, mental conditions may due to
the same become criminal. Some criminal is generally
suffering from unsoundness of mind. They will not have the
capacity to distinguish between good and bad. It may also
leads to delinquencies. Child whose physical development
takes place more rapidly than its age, such child is attracted
to sex crime.
d. Family Status - Child of family of high social status is
found cultured, well behaved and disciplined. But child of
backward class or low family is generally found indiscipline.
e. Social background - Evil social background develops
criminality in children. The children’s behaviors are formed
from the circumstances in which they are living. If the
society is filled with evils, they may naturally become
criminals.
f. Over Population - The children of such places do not get
proper feeding care and education due to acute poverty. Due
to continuous poverty and inconvenience, dissatisfaction etc.
will lead the children into criminality.
g. Political reasons - Political reasons are also responsible
for increasing juvenile delinquency. Political leaders use the
children in public procession, strikes etc. such children are
often belonging to poor background and uneducated
 families. Money is paid to them. Political leaders use these
children to create social dis-order by destroying vehicles,
public property etc.

The word ‘Juvenile Delinquency’ has been interpreted by

different penologists. Generally speaking the term refer to a
large variety of disapproved behaviors of children and
adolescents which the society does not approved of and for
which some kind of admonishment punishment or corrective
measures is justified in the public interest. Thus the term has
extensive of children and their attitudes of indifference
towards society.
The act of begging drinking, gambling etc. are also
included within this term. In short it can be said that juvenile
is an adolescent person, between childhood and manhood or
womanhood as the case may be, who indulges in some sort
of antisocial behavior which if not checked may turn him
into a potential offender.

Juvenile Delinquency refers to participation of minors in

illegal crimes. When a person deviates from the normal
course of his social life his behavior is termed as delinquent.
In other words when a juvenile’s actions prove to be
dangerous towards the society and for him, he may be called
a juvenile delinquent. The act of delinquency may include
running away from home, use of inappropriate or vulgar
languages, committing sexual offences etc.
4) 6)International Instruments
The United Nations Convention on Rights of Child (CRC)
was laid down in 1989, which became a landmark in the
international Human Rights legislations. It clearly indicated
the rights of the children and why they should be
protected. This rights approach shielded in the CRC
entailed changes in the area of social justice, equity and
empowerment of the young members of society.
The CRC is a legally binding agreement that sets out the
civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of every
child, irrespective of their race, religion or abilities articles,
it sets out children’s rights .Ever since the convention
was adopted in 1980, 194 countries have signed up the
Convention. All the countries that ratified to UNCRC are
bound by International law and its implementation.
Committee on CRC sees to it that countries which have
signed up the UN convention abide to the norms of the
Convention.
India ratified to the CRC in 1992 and since then it
has been bringing out various legislations to cover the
rights of children. Juvenile Justice Act in India is one such
legislation which clearly and extensively deals with issues
of children.
b) Delinquent Juvenile means a Juvenile who has been
found to have committed an offence.
c) The Act also defines a Neglected Juvenile, which means
a delinquent who -
1) is found begging, or
2) is found without having any home or settled place of
abode and without any ostensible means of subsistence and
is destitute or
3) has a parent or guardian who is unfit or incapacitated to
exercise control over the Juvenile.
4) live in brothel or with a prostitute or frequently goes to
any place used for the purposes of prostitution, or is found to
associate with any prostitute or any other person who leads
an immoral, drunken or deproved life or
5) who is being or likely to be abused or used for immoral
or illegal purpose or unconscionable gain.

4) Definition of juvenile in conflict with law given

u/s.2(l) of Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,
2000 means a juvenile who is alleged to have committed an
offence. Juvenile or child means a person who has not
completed 18 years of age.

5)According to Section 2(k) of the Juvenile Justice (Care

and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 defines juvenile as
a person who has not completed 18th year of age. A juvenile
is a young person who has not met a specific age as
prescribed by the law of a country and does not abide
resemblance as a matured person who can be made legally
liable for his criminal activities.

6)Section 2 (k) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and

Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (referred generally as
JJ Act) “juvenile is a person who below 16 years.”

7) India signed and ratified the UN Convention on the

Rights of the Child (UNCRC), 1989, which treated a
person as a juvenile who is below 18 years of age.
 8) Amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015
1) Historical background:
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.
2) Object of the Act:
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.
3)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 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.”
 Definition of child

Firstly, the act defines a child as a person who has not

completed eighteen years of age. The Act classifies the term
“child” into two categories, namely ‘child in conflict with
law’, and ‘child in need of care and protection’.
 It was by this Act that it was recognised that the rights of
juvenile accused are equally important as those of victims,
and therefore, special provisions were proposed to tackle
heinous offences committed by individuals in the 16-18 age
group. This provision of the Act has faced criticism, which
will be dealt with later on.
 In the Act of 2015, the definition of a ‘child in need of
care and protection’ had been expanded, such that it
includes a child who is:
 Found working in contravention of labour laws, or

 At imminent risk of marriage before attaining the lawful

age, or
 Who resides with such a person who has or had threatened

to injure, exploit, abuse or neglect the child or violate any

other law, or
 Whose parents or guardians are unfit to take care of him/her.

Also, the definition of ‘adoption’ had been added, and the

rights of an adopted child have been recognised in the Act.
 Introduction of children’s court
 A very important provision of ‘children’s court’ had been
made, which was absent in the 2000 statute. Under this, a
court is established under the Commissions for Protection of
Child Rights Act, 2005 or a Special Court under the
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012,
wherever existing and where such courts have not been
designated, the Court of Sessions is having jurisdiction to try
offences under the Act.
 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.
 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.
 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.
 No life-imprisonment or death sentence to a juvenile.
 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.
 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.
 4)Punishment under the Act:
 Firstly, for giving a child alcohol or any intoxicating
liquor or narcotic drug, the punishment up to seven years
and penalty up to one lakh rupees.
 Secondly, for buying or selling of a child have a
prescribed punishment of five years of punishment and a
fine up to one lakh rupees.
 Thirdly, for employing a child for begging in streets or
train would amount to imprisonment up to five years and
fine up to one lakh rupees.
 Fourthly, for subjecting a child to cruelty would lead to
the punishment up to three years of imprisonment and a
fine of amount one lakh.

9)Case law:
In Mukesh and Others 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 contented that there is a need to amend the Juvenile
Justice Care and Protection Act, 2000. As a result of this case
amendment was made where the age of which the age of the
juvenile was reduced from 18 years to 16 years.