The biggest case till now that has resulted in one of the greatest uproar is the Delhi gang

rape case of a
girl named Jyoti. Jyoti, a girl aged 23, was brutally raped and then killed. The committers of this crime
were appropriately punished leaving one. One of the culprits in this case was a 17-year-old boy who
walked out of the court just because he was under the age which is considered appropriate to be
punished.

The question that arises after this verdict is that whether our Juvenile Justice Act is justified to decide
whether or not to punish a culprit based on their age? Is it justified to take the age factor the only
parameter to give punishment?

According to me, the intention of the person and his capability to understand the nature and effect of
his act should be the actual criteria in order to judge a person, not any age limit that law provides. It
would be too unfair to the country if the committers of such heinous crimes are pardoned just because
they did not fulfil the age criteria. There is a need to bring up a new juvenile law which considers not just
the age, but also the degree of atrocity conferred. The greatest concern that is expressed in this article is
that whether the characterization that is done on the basis of age is valid when the offence committed is
same?

An Insight into the Juvenile Justice System of India

In India, Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 provides the age limit below which one could not be sent to jail, i.e.,
18 years. However, such a provision was entered in order to confirm the rule of United Nation’s
Convention on the Rights of the Child. Under the law, juvenile offenders who have committed heinous
crimes (rape and murder) can only be sent to a ‘place of safety’ for a maximum period of three years.

A further amendment was brought in the year 2006 which was made in order to determine whether the
culprit is to be put under Juvenile justice Act or not, his age at the time of committing an offence is to be
looked into.

The amendment also made it clear that if a person is juvenile than under no circumstance, he could be
kept in a police lock-up or lodged in jail.
A Juvenile can be defined as a child who has not attained a certain age at which he, as an adult person
under the law of the land, can be held liable for his criminal acts.[1] In Indian law S. 82 of IPC prevents a
child under the age of 7 years of age from being punished for any offence. Further, any person between
7 and 12 years of age who has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and
consequence of his conduct on that occasion cannot be held liable for an offence.[2]

Juvenile Justice Act in rest of the world

In the United States the age of juvenile varies from state to state. The lowest among them is 14 at which
a youth is liable to get adult sentences for serious crimes

In the United Kingdom, the act named Youth justice and Criminal Evidence Act, 1999, lays down that a
child between ages 10 and 18 are capable of committing a crime and will be tried in a separate court for
youth.

Situation in India

Supreme Court dismissed petitions brought by the public demand by requesting the court that in the
cases of Rape and murder, the age should be lowered to 16 years. Even the subsequent petition
submitted by Subramanian Swamy who asked the judges to consider the mental and intellectual
maturity rather than the age especially when the young are involved in a very heinous crime was
dismissed.[3]

Even K.T.S Tulsi believes that due to the age bar many people are taking advantage of such a provision
which results in a large number of children committing heinous crimes.[4] The Parliament needs to wake
up to this as soon as possible and change the law, reducing the juvenile age. “The longer it takes, we
allow more and more young criminals to get away and free to commit crimes again,” says Tulsi.

Rate in India

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has declared that from within a decade, i.e., the period 2002 to
2012, India had witnessed an increase of 143 percent in the cases of rape committed by juveniles.
Similarly, the number of the murders committed by juvenile witnessed an increase of 87 percent and
the number of the kidnapping of women and girls by minor increased by 500 percent.[5]

“The 17-year-olds are aware that they are juveniles and take advantage of the fact saying you cannot
take us in for questioning etc. Though there has not been a rise in juvenile crime rates as such, there has
been an increase in the severity of the crimes committed by juveniles”, says Himanshu Roy, Mumbai Joint
Police commissioner.[6]

Rehabilitation in India

It is enshrined in the principles of international law that the state of remand homes in India is not very
impressive. Rehabilitation is certainly an important aspect, but there is a need to protect the females of
this country. Does such rehabilitation guarantee that the person after being released will not go back to
committing any crime? It is very necessary that the present Juvenile Justice Act be amended. Violent
crimes such as rape and murder should be included in the adult criminal system for the juveniles after a
certain age.

It is high time that the justice system of this country realise that there is a need to provide justice to the
“victims” and not the “criminals”. Our justice system always pays attention to the condition and age of
the accused. What about the one who is actually the sufferer in this crime, the victim? If such concern
was placed earlier, than Jyoti would have got justice. Which circumstances can be blamed? Can we say
that because there was the presence of poverty, etc. the juvenile committed such a crime?

The answer is NO. When a juvenile is convicted of the crime committed by him, his mental maturity is
what that should be considered, on the fact that he was fully conscious and aware during the
commission of a crime.

It is very necessary that the justice system takes note of the two major things, i.e., Firstly, the law should
be equal for everyone and anyone. Secondly, this amendment is the only a way to protect children who
are unfortunately caught in the web of adult crimes and also save the society” from all people with
criminal instincts.
POCSO Act

POCSO or The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) 2012 was established to
protect the children against offences like sexual abuse, sexual harassment and pornography. It was
formed to provide a child-friendly system for trial underneath which the perpetrators could be
punished. The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age. It also makes provisions
for avoiding the re-victimization of the child at the hands of the judicial system. Protection of Children
from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 received the President’s assent on June 19, 2012. It was notified in the
Gazette of India on June 20, in the same year.
The Act defines different forms of sexual abuse which includes penetrative and non-penetrative
assault. It also involves sexual harassment, pornography, etc. Under certain specific circumstances
POCSO states a sexual assault is to be considered “aggravated if the abused child is mentally ill or
when the abuse is committed by a member of the armed forces or security forces or a public servant
or a person in a position of trust or authority of the child, like a family member, police officer, teacher,
or doctor or a person-management or staff of a hospital — whether Government or private.”
The Union cabinet cleared the ordinance on POCSO act whereby death penalty will be given to those
convicted of raping a child up to 12 years of age. Centre has cleared the criminal law amendment
ordinance and POCSO Act is a part of this amendment.
VISITS:-
SOS childrens village, Jaipur

The SOS Children's Village is situated in a residential area about 2.1 km from the Jaipur Railway
Station It consists of 14 Family Homes, a Kindergarten serving as a day care center for young
children, a well-equipped computer laboratory, basketball and volleyball courts, an auditorium,
a library and a medical dispensary. At present, it consists of 139 children.
RAJKIYA SISHU GRIHA, gandhinagar, Jaipur
Scheme of Assistance to Homes (Shishu Griha) for Children to promote In-Country Adoption is
implemented by CARA. The purpose of the scheme is to regulate adoption in the country, to
provide institutional care for orphan and foreign adoption as well, destitute and surrendered
children prior to adoption and to promote in-country adoption. Under this scheme NGOs can
register to run a Shishu Griha. 90% of funding will come from the Government of India and 10%
must be covered by the organisation. 100% grants will be afforded to agencies but only up to
Rs. 6,00,000/- a financial year.

FINDINGS:-

 Child rights department and Integrated child development scheme is working

over children’s nutrition and protection of their rights, but still children are found
begging on the streets of state capital and child labour indulge in Ari-tari work
and bangle factories indicates that there is need of more object oriented,
visionary and effective implementation to achieve the goal of making the
environment child friendly & protected in our state as well as in our country.
 HOMES (legal ways of adoption) there is less probability of adoptions. We have
committees of JJ Act, children court, NGO’s and many other volunteers who are
working in the field of child rights they are trying to provide basic amenities and
education to the children in need of care and protection, still every child is not
covered under this umbrella, collective efforts of government & public are
needed to provide justice and to ensure protection of the rights of the child who
is standing on the last step.
Conclusion
There are numerous schemes and machinery to provide better living standards to the children in
need but still these are not enough to reach at grass root level and provide such facilities to
children in need.

There must be regular surprise visits to such centers in order to curb away any possibility of foul
act.

 In the crimes such as rape, murder, etc. which totally destroys the victim’s as well as
victims’ family’s morals. In the case of rape, India being a patriarchal society, the girl has
to suffer a lot and pay for the deeds of others. The family of these victims have to pay for
the act that is committed by other and not just for one or two years but for entire life. In
cases like these, the offenders should not be left out walk free in the society, especially
after what they have put the other person through.

If we want to provide true justice to the victims and their relatives of such incidents, we will start
with this little step to pave the way for wonders to happen. Justice delayed is Justice denied. To
understand this very simple statement, it took all India, one barbaric rape case to question the
Juvenile Justice system. After all, let’s remember, criminals do not fear life, they fear death. And
death is an ultimate deterrent.

Hence, apt amount of remedies are there for children to safeguard their rights but the
implementation and emphasis should be at the grass root level.
Bibliography

 [1] Section 2 (k) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000
 [2] S. 83 of IPC.
 [3] Dismissal of Subramaniam Swamy’s
plea, NDTV,http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/amanat-case-board-dismisses-
subramanian-swamy-s-plea-on-juvenile-accused-321836
 [4] December 16 gang rape: Juvenile gets only 3 yrs. jail. Is the law good enough to
handle such cases?,INDIA TODAY http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/december-16-
gangrape-juvenile-sentenced-to-three-years/1/305269.html
 [5] Heinous crimes by minors on the rise, shows Ncrb
data, http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/heinous-crimes-by-minors-on-the-rise-shows-
ncrb-data-415367
 [6] 8 Gang rapes in 8 months in Mumbai, TIMES OF INDIA,
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-12-02/mumbai/44656705_1_rti-
application-nirbhaya-case-shakti-mill
