INTRODUCTION:
Juvenile
or Child means a person who has not had completed 18th year of age.
Under the criminal jurisprudence, juvenile/child is treated differently from
adults. The young ones between certain age groups are susceptible to
temptations of life and become criminals. If the criminal traits are not
corrected in time, they become hardened criminals in future.
It
was found that if a child is taken good care, he or she turns out to be a good
citizen with good mental and physical faculties, but under bad surroundings,
and neglect of basic needs, children become juveniles in conflict with law. Neglected
children fall an easy prey to criminality.
By
the end of 18th century, the problem of Juvenile offenders was
seriously viewed. Special concessions were granted to Juvenile in conflict with
law both in civil matters and that of crimes. Till then, Juveniles were dealt
in a similar mode like adults.
Juvenile
in conflict with law means a large variety of disapproved behaviors of children
and adolescents. The society does not approve of such behavior and in the
public interest, some kind of punishment or corrective measure is inflicted on
the Juvenile in conflict with law. For example, acts like begging, drinking, gambling,
loitering, rebellious behavior towards the society, etc., are included under
the term ‘Juvenile in conflict with law’.
CAUSES
OF JUVENILE IN CONFLICT WITH LAW:
1. More
urbanization has led to temptations for modern luxuries in the minds of
children, which prompt them to do wrongful acts to satisfy their wants.
2. The
lack of parental control and broken homes are also causes of increase in
Juvenile in conflict with law.
3. Increasing
cases of matrimonial disputes affect family integrity
which in turn makes the child go astray.
4. Watching
pornography.
5. The
problem of culture-conflict and inability to adjust to rapidly changing
pattern of living by adolescents, prompt them to commit crime.
6. Biological
factors like early physical maturity without corresponding
mental growth account for delinquencies among Juveniles. This is especially in
the case of girls who fall easy prey to sex mal-adjustments.
7. The
inability of parents to provide essential necessities of life to
children is also a cause for Juvenile in conflict with law.
8. Lack
of proper education, child labor, etc., are also the
causes for children to fall a prey to criminality.
‘JUVENILE
IN CONFLICT WITH LAW’ IN INDIA:
When
compared to other advanced countries, the problem of Juvenile in conflict with
law in India is not so tense. However, the free and licentious life of the
western countries have affected the modern Indian youth.
Special provisions now exist in
India and special methods have been devised to tackle the problems of Juvenile
in conflict with law, based on the assumption that a young offender should
not be tried but corrected and should not be punished but reformed.
There
are certain special provisions regarding the Juvenile in conflict with law in
the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
1. Section
82 of
IPC deal with a child below seven years as incapable of committing a
crime (doli incapax).
2. Section
83 of
IPC deal with a child between seven and thirteen years of age is
considered to be of a limited criminal liability (doli capax).
3. According
to Section 360 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, any person below
21 years of age or any woman convicted of an offence not punishable with death
or imprisonment for life, if there is no previous conviction against that
person, may be released on probation of good conduct.
4. Section
27 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 provides that a
person below 16 years of age committing an offence not punishable with death or
imprisonment for life should be awarded a lenient punishment depending upon his
previous history. Also, commutation of sentence for good behavior is also done
in such cases.
5. In
order to prevent the disclosure of the proceedings to the public, the
proceedings are conducted ‘in camera’ (closed chamber) without publishing the
name and address of the Juvenile in conflict with law.
SUGGESTIONSTO
CONTROL JUVENILE DELINQUENCY:
1. By
conducting effective juvenile educational programs and by conducting activities
aimed at the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency.
2. Changing
the local conditions which contribute to juvenile delinquency.
3. Developing
recreational and other programs for juvenile and youth.
4. Involving
local, State and Central officials, public and private agencies to devise
methods for the reduction and prevention of juvenile delinquency and also
treatment of delinquent children.
5. Preparing
and recommending new legislations for the improvement of the juvenile justice
system in India.
6. Periodical
reviewing of ‘rehabilitate placement of children’ and recommending alternative
placements where ever appropriate.
OBJECTIVES
OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT (CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN) 2000
The
Juvenile Justice Act 2000 came into force after replacing the Juvenile Justice
Act, 1986 and the Children Act, 1960 and other State enactments on the subject
of Juvenile in conflict with law.
AIM:
-
The Act was to consolidate and amend the
law relating to (i) juveniles in conflict with law and (ii) children in need of
care and protection.
-
The Act provides for proper care,
protection and treatment by catering to the development needs of such children.
OBJECTS
AND REASONS:
The
justice system as available for adults is not suitable for being applied to a
juvenile or the child. Hence, there is an urgent need for creating adequate
infrastructure necessary for improving juvenile justice system in India with
larger involvement of informal systems like the family, the voluntary
organizations and the community. In this context, the following further
proposals have been made for improving the Juvenile Justice system in India:
i.
To lay down the basic principles for
administering justice to a juvenile or the child.
ii.
To make the juvenile system meant for a
juvenile or the child more appreciative of the development needs in comparison
to criminal justice system as applicable to adults.
iii.
To bring the juvenile law in conformity
with the United Convention on the Rights of the child.
iv.
To prescribe a uniform age of eighteen
years for both boys and girls.
v.
To ensure speedy disposal of cases by
the authorities regarding juvenile or the child within a time limit of four
months.
vi.
To spell out the role of the State as a
facilitator doer by involving voluntary organizations and local bodies in the
implementation of juvenile justice.
vii.
To create special juvenile police units
with a humane approach through sensitization and training of police personnel.
viii.
To enable increased accessibility to a
juvenile or the child by stabling Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare
Committees and Homes in each district or group of districts.
ix.
To minimize the stigma and in keeping
with the development needs of the juvenile or the child, one for juveniles in
conflict with law and the other for the juvenile or the child in need of care
and protection.
x.
To provide for effective provisions and
various alternatives for rehabilitation and social reintegration such as
adoption, foster care, sponsorship and aftercare of abandoned, destitute,
neglected and delinquent juvenile and child.
CONCLUSION:
The
Act 2000 adopts a ‘child – friendly approach’ in the adjudication and
disposition of matters in the best interest of children and for their ultimate
rehabilitation through various institutions established under this Act.
But
to say – the age of criminals is getting frighteningly younger. Juvenile is
really a state of mind, and possibly not only a state of body. To that extent,
we should be careful to review and revise norms that define who is a juvenile
and who is not. Being below the age of 18 is not a getaway age. Crime at any
age must be treated as a crime. Youngsters grow up earlier today. Keeping this
in mind, it is time to look at juvenile crime with a different yardstick of
severity altogether.
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written by : ABINAYA
SAKTHIVEL
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