JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN INDIA

Available statistics on juvenile delinquency in India reveal that the problem is not as tense as in the western
world. “Ibis may be due to variations in living conditions such as greater family affiliation and parental
control, stronghold of religious convictions and due regard for moral precepts in Indian society. This is not to
suggest that the proportion of juvenile delinquency in India is negligible.

The impact of western civilization and temptation for luxuries and pompous life has greatly disturbed the
modem Indian youth. Consequently, there has been a considerable growth in crimes committed by juveniles.
India like any other country, also seeks to tackle the problem of juvenile delinquency on the .basis of three
fundamental assumptions:—

(i) Young offenders should not be tried; they should rather be corrected;

(ii) They should not be punished but reformed

(iii) Exclusion of delinquents i.e. children in conflict with law from the ambit of Court and stress on their non-
penal treatment through community based social control agencies such a Juvenile Justice Board, Observation
Homes, Special Homes etc.

History

In India, the first legislation dealing with children in conflict with law or children committing crime was the
Apprentices Act, 1850. It provided that children under the age of 15 years found to have committed petty
offences will be bounded as apprentices.

Thereafter, the Reformatory Schools Act, 1897 came into effect which provided that children up to the age of
15 years sentenced to imprisonment would be sent to reformatory cell.

After the Independence, with an aim to provide care, protection, development and rehabilitation of neglected
or delinquent juveniles, our Parliament enacted the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986. It was an Act which brought
uniform system throughout the country.

Section 2(a) of the Act defined the term ‘juvenile’ as a “boy who has not attained the age of 16 years and a
girl who has not attained the age of 18 years”.
Later on the Parliament enacted the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000 which raised the age bar
to 18 years for both girl and boy.

Present Legislation:
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 has been passed by Parliament of India.[1] It
aims to replace the existing Indian juvenile delinquency law, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000, so that juveniles in conflict with Law in the age group of 16–18, involved in Heinous
Offences, can be tried as adults.

The bill will allow a Juvenile Justice Board, which would include psychologists and sociologists, to decide
whether a juvenile criminal in the age group of 16–18 should tried as an adult or not.

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.

One of the most criticized step in the new JJ Bill 2015 is introduction of "Judicial Waiver System" which
allows treatment of juveniles, in certain conditions,in the adult criminal justice system and to punish them as
adults. 

Difference between a Juvenile and a Minor

Though in common language we use both the terms interchangeably but ‘juvenile’ and ‘minor’ in legal terms
are used in different context. The term juvenile is used with reference to a young criminal offender and the
term minor relates to legal capacity or majority of a person.

Juvenile Crimes in India

Petty crimes in general and heinous crimes in particular are being committed regularly in India by children.
Crimes such as theft, burglary, snatching which are not so serious in nature or crimes such as robbery,
dacoity, murder and rape etc which are relatively serious are on the rise in whole of the country. And the
unfortunate thing is that all types of these crimes are also being committed by children below the age of 18
years.

Among juveniles also there is a specific trend that juveniles between the age of 16 to 18 years are found to be
more involved in heinous criminal acts. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the data of 2013
shows that of the 43,506 crimes registered against minors under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Special
Local Law (SLL) by juveniles, 28,830 had been committed by those between the ages of 16 to 18. The
statistics also show the number of juveniles found to be in conflict with law under the IPC and the SLL has
risen 13.6% and 2.5% respectively in 2013, as compared with 2012.
The inhuman gang rape of a young girl on December 16, 2012, shocked the collective conscience of the
nation. The brutality with which the heinous crime was committed was most shocking; it was later found out
that among five accused, one was minor and he was the most barbaric one.

Again, in another brutal gang rape case which is known as Shakti Mill Rape case, a minor was involved.
These and several more recent events have triggered a public debate that the present Juvenile Justice (Care
and Protection) Act, 2000 which treats persons below the age of 18 years as minor or juvenile, should be
amended.

The Indian law contains a more precise and clear-cut definition of juvenile delinquency. It provides that any
violation of existing penal law of the country committed by a child under eighteen years, shall be an act in
conflict with law for the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Justice Board.

It is significant to note that the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, lays down a separate procedure for dealing with the
neglected and uncontrollable juveniles who have been termed as ‘children in need of care and protection’. The
former are to be dealt with by the Juvenile Justice Board.

The provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 clearly indicate that unlike
USA and England, the courts in India do not have jurisdiction in relation to child in conflict with law. That
apart, the term ‘delinquency’ in relation to juveniles has the same meaning as ‘offences’ committed by adults.

Thus, there is no difference between the contents of delinquency and an offence except that an offence
committed by an adult person is triable in ordinary court whereas the juvenile who commits a delinquent act is
proceeded against in the Juvenile Justice Board through a special procedure.

Besides, certain special provisions also exist in the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973 in relation to the young and juvenile offenders which provide for their special treatment and procedure.
They are as follows:—

(1) Sections 82 and 83 of the Indian Penal Code contain elaborate provisions regarding the extent of criminal
liability of children belonging to different age groups. A child below the age of seven is doli incapex, that is,
incapable of committing a crime. Likewise, a child between seven and twelve years of age has only a limited
criminal liability. The contention is to justify a lenient treatment to young offenders because they cannot
appreciate the nature and consequences of their act due to lack of sufficient maturity and understanding.
Under the circumstances, it would be grossly unjust to treat them at par with the adult offenders.
(2) Section 360 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 provides that when any person who is below twenty-
one years of age or any woman, is convicted of an offence not being punishable with death or imprisonment
for life, and no previous conviction is proved against such person, the court may, having regard to the age,
character and antecedents of the offender, and to the circumstances in which the offence was committed, order
release of the offender on probation of good conduct for a period not exceeding three years on entering into a
bond with or without sureties, instead of sentencing him to any punishment. Such ‘first offenders’ are not to
be tried in a criminal court through the ordinary procedure. Instead, they are to be dealt with and corrected
through special methods or treatment under the law. The object is to segregate the young offenders from
hardened criminals so that they are not exposed to recidivistic tendencies.

(3) Section 27 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 further suggests that a lenient treatment to juveniles
has already received statutory recognition in the Indian law. The section provides that if a person below
sixteen years of age commits an offence other than the one punishable with death or imprisonment for life, he
should be awarded a lenient punishment depending on his previous history, character and circumstances
which led him to commit the crime. His sentence can further be commuted for good behaviour during the
term of his imprisonment.

With a view to preventing the juvenile offender from stigmatisation and embarrassment, the proceedings
instituted against him are neither published nor published. His name, address or identity is not disclosed and
general public is excluded from witnessing the trial. The delinquent’s parents may, however, be allowed to
attend the trial. The object of these closed-door proceedings is to keep off the delinquent from the rigours of
procedural law and make the trial simple and less formal.

The guiding principles relating to the treatment of children and young delinquents are now contained in two
Central Acts, namely, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and the Probation of
Offenders Act, 1958. The latter Act provides for release of juvenile offenders on probation.

The theme underlying these legislative measures pre-supposes that youngsters are “naughty” by nature and
therefore, society’s attitude towards them should be one of tolerence and generosity. That apart, the mental
attitude of juvenile delinquent at the time of committing crime certainly differs from that of a confirmed adult
criminal. It would therefore, be grossly unjust to punish the two alike.