Juvenile Justice Act, Act 2015 Features, Positive, Negative & Issues

Juvenile Justice Act

The Juvenile Justice Act was introduced by the Indian government, which gave several reasons for why additional regulations were necessary. In August of 2014, it was approved by the Lok Sabha. It claimed, among other things, that the present Juvenile Justice Act of 2000 was having operational issues and prosecution delays related to its adoption. Additionally, they cited figures from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to assert that there had been an increase in crimes committed by minors, particularly those between the ages of 16 and 18. Records from the NCRB show that from 2003 to 2013, the proportion of adolescent criminal offences to all offences increased from 1% to 1.2%.

An essential component of the Indian Polity section of the UPSC test is the Juvenile Justice Act (Care and Protection of Children). This article explains all crucial details about the Juvenile Justice Act (JJ Act 2015), including its legislation, goals, and key characteristics.

Juvenile Justice Act Background

The Delhi Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), which was formed by the merger of three state child rights commissions from Bengal, Rajasthan, and Punjab, urged the Union government to undo an amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act that labels some crimes against children as not being punishable by law.

In accordance with the changes accepted by the President, the Juvenile Justice Act of 2015 (Care and Protection of Children) entered into force in 2021. Prior to this, the 2020 evaluation of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) by the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) showed significant issues with the management of childcare facilities.

Juvenile Justice Act 2015

The Act, which was proposed and approved by Parliament in 2015, repealed the Juvenile Delinquency Law and the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (Care and Protection of Children Act). It allowed cases where the crimes needed to be determined to be committed by juveniles between the ages of 16 and 18 to be tried as adults.

Juvenile Justice Act Features

In order to update the laws and improve the juvenile justice system’s ability to adapt to shifting social conditions, the JJA, 2015 incorporated numerous amendments to the existing law. The law aims to hold juvenile offenders accountable by using counselling rather than sanctions.

The 2015 amendment to the law changed the terms “juvenile” and “child in conflict with the law” to “child” and “child.” Orphaned, handed over, and abandoned children are all defined by the Act. Additionally, it defines minor, major, and severe offences committed by kids. A terrible offence is one that, under any applicable statute, carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail. A major offence is one that carries a 3- to 7-year prison sentence. A small offence has a maximum 3-year jail sentence.

The Act clarifies the roles and authority of the Child Welfare Commission and Juvenile Justice Board.

Juvenile Justice Board

Children who are in custody or who are charged with a crime are brought before this judicial body.  Since minors are not supposed to be brought before a regular criminal court, this serves as a special court for them.  The Board is made up of two social workers, at least one of whom should be a woman, and a first-class court magistrate.  The Board is intended to be a kid-friendly environment that doesn’t intimidate kids.

Child Welfare Committee

These committees were established in the districts by the State Governments in compliance with the Act’s requirements. The Committees are able to make decisions about issues involving the care, protection, treatment, development, and rehabilitation of children who require care and protection as well as the provision of their basic requirements and protection.

Orphaned, surrendered, and abandoned children can be adopted under the Act’s effective and well-organized system. Additionally, it makes registration for all child care facilities a requirement. The revised Act’s provision that teenagers between the ages of 16 and 18 will be considered as adults in cases of heinous crimes is one of its most significant provisions. The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is given legal standing under the Act. The legislation makes a distinction between children who require care and protection and those who are in trouble with the law.

No matter the offence committed, a youngster could only be sentenced under the previous Act to a maximum of three years. The minor could not ever be tried in adult court, imprisoned in adult facilities, or given a sentence greater than three years. With the 2015 modification, this was altered. Except for one exception, all children under the age of 18 would get equal treatment. That is, when horrible crimes are involved.

Any minor between the ages of 16 and 18 who has been charged with a severe offence may be tried in adult court. In order to decide if the kid can be handled as an adult, the Juvenile Justice Board would evaluate the child’s physical and mental capabilities, his or her capacity to understand the implications of the crime, etc.

Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 Positives

There is a big difference between children who need protection and care and those who are in legal trouble. It mandates the registration of all children’s homes, enhancing the system’s efficiency and openness. Between the ages of 16 and 18, it aims to lessen the number of crimes committed by juveniles. It brings justice to the victims of such atrocities by allowing 16 to 18-year-olds to be tried as adults in cases of serious crimes.

Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 Negatives

Numerous psychiatric studies highlight how vulnerable children between the ages of 16 and 18 are due to physical and hormonal changes. Further harm may result if juvenile offenders are treated as adults for adult offences and imprisoned. The kid will be in close proximity to professional offenders in such settings, which could hinder their rehabilitation.

According to some, Article 14 of the Constitution, which ensures that everyone has the right to equality, is broken when children between the ages of 16 and 18 are treated differently. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by India in 1992. Any person who is younger than 18 must be treated as a child in accordance with this Convention. This is against the modified law’s requirements for classifying people between the ages of 16 and 18 as adults.

A psychological evaluation must be conducted to determine whether or not the minor can be treated as an adult. Though not fully scientific, this can sometimes be subjective. Based on information from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), it was argued that teenagers between the ages of 16 and 18 should be given special consideration. Many people have questioned the validity of this data, and many of the cases were still in the early stages when the FIR was filed.

Children from economically disadvantaged areas of society are more likely to commit crimes. The environment in which children raised in slum areas are nurtured must be improved if juvenile criminality is to be decreased. Additionally, all classrooms need to promote an atmosphere of free communication between parents and kids.

Juvenile Justice Act and Offences under it

Three different sorts of offences are covered by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. These offences range from cognizable to non-cognizable offences, as well as cases including both. The section following goes into great depth about each of these offences:

Cognizable Offences

According to the Juvenile Justice Act of 2015, a cognizable offence is one for which a police officer may detain the defendant without a warrant in accordance with the first schedule or any other law in effect at the time and launch an investigation without the judge’s approval. Examples of cognizable crimes include murder, rape, kidnapping, theft, dowry death, and other heinous or grave transgressions. A first information report (FIR) is only filed for offences that are cognizable.

Non-Cognizable Offences

A non-cognizable offence is one that is included in the Indian Penal Code’s first schedule and cannot be released on bond. In the case of a non-cognizable offence, the police cannot hold the defendant in custody or conduct an investigation without a warrant.

The magistrate receives a charge sheet, and it is assumed that he or she will order the participating police officers to conduct an inquiry. This category includes falsification, fraud or cheating, defamation, public annoyance, and other non-cognizable offences.

Cases including both Cognizable and Non-Cognizable Offences

According to Section 155(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code, whenever two or more crimes are committed in a case, at least one of which is cognizable and the other is not, the entire case must be treated as a cognizable case in that circumstance, with the lead investigating officer having all of the authority and power that he has when investigating a cognizable case.

Juvenile Justice Act 2015 Issue Associated

As The change in question concerns Section 86 of the JJ Act, which declares that certain offences previously classified as crimes under the special law and carrying sentences of three to seven years in prison have been reclassified as non-cognizable. Due to power disparities, victims cannot always report such crimes directly; however parents, child rights organisations, and Child Welfare Committees (CWC) frequently report such crimes to the police.

The majority of the time, the parents of these kids is day labourers who either don’t know how to report crimes to the police or don’t want to do so. They do not wish to take part in the legal proceedings because doing so would force them to miss work and incur salary loss. Child Welfare Committees’ (CWCs) first instinct is typically to “talk and come to an agreement” without reporting the occurrence to the police in its most serious form. Making these crimes, along with a number of other serious acts covered by the special law, unrecognisable would make it far more difficult to report a crime to the police.

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