2/24/2018 the PRS Blog » The Juvenile Justice Bill, 2015: All you need to know

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The Juvenile Justice Bill, 2015: All you need to know

December 18th, 2015 Apoorva Shankar and Tanvi Deshpande Leave a comment Go to comments

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 is currently pending in Rajya Sabha and
was listed for passage in the current Winter session of Parliament. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha after
incorporating certain amendments, in May 2015. Here is all you need to know about the Bill and key issues
associated with it. A PRS analysis of the statistics on incidence of crimes by children and conviction rates is
available here.

Who is a juvenile as recognised by law? Table 1: Juveniles between 16-18

years apprehended under IPC
In the Indian context, a juvenile or child is any person who is below the
age of 18 years. However, the Indian Penal Code specifies that a child Crime 2003 2013
cannot be charged for any crime until he has attained seven years of age.

Why is there a need for a new Bill when a juvenile justice law Burglary 1,160 2,117
already exists?

The government introduced the Juvenile Justice Bill in August 2014 in Rape 293 1,388
Lok Sabha and gave various reasons to justify the need for a new law. It
said that the existing Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 was facing
implementation issues and procedural delays with regard to adoption, Kidnapping/abduction 156 933
etc. Additionally, the government cited National Crime Records Bureau
(NCRB) data to say that there has been an increase in crimes committed Robbery 165 880
by juveniles, especially by those in the 16-18 years age group.

NCRB data shows that the percentage of juvenile crimes, when seen in Murder 328 845
proportion to total crimes, has increased from 1% in 2003 to 1.2% in
2013. During the same period, 16-18 year olds accused of crimes as a
percentage of all juveniles accused of crimes increased from 54% to Other offences 11,83919,641
66%. However, the type of crimes committed by 16-18 year olds can be
seen in table 1.
Total 13,94125,804
What is the new Bill doing?
Note: Other offences include
Currently, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, cheating, rioting, etc. Sources:
2000 provides the framework to deal with children who are in conflict Juveniles in conflict with law,
with law and children in need of care and protection. The Bill seeks to Crime in India 2013, National
replace the existing 2000 Act and lays down the procedures to deal with Crime Records Bureau; PRS.
both categories of children. It highlights the two main bodies that will deal with these children, to be set up
in each district: Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) and Child Welfare Committees (CWCs). It provides details
regarding adoption processes and penalties applicable under the law. The Bill provides for children between
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2/24/2018 the PRS Blog » The Juvenile Justice Bill, 2015: All you need to know

16-18 years to be tried as adults for heinous crimes. The three types of offences defined by the Bill are: (i) a
heinous offence is an offence that attracts a minimum penalty of seven years imprisonment under any
existing law, (ii) a serious offence is one that gets imprisonment between three to seven years and, (iii) a
petty offence is penalized with up to three years imprisonment.

Currently, how is a juvenile in conflict with law treated? How is that set to change?

Under the 2000 Act, any child in conflict with law, regardless of the type of offence committed, may spend a
maximum of three years in institutional care (special home, etc.) The child cannot be given any penalty
higher than three years, nor be tried as an adult and be sent to an adult jail. The proposed Bill treats all
children under the age of 18 years in a similar way, except for one departure. It states that any 16-18 year old
who commits a heinous offence may be tried as an adult. The JJB shall assess the child’s mental and
physical capacity, ability to understand consequences of the offence, etc. On the basis of this assessment, a
Children’s Court will determine whether the child is fit to be tried as an adult.

What did the Standing Committee examining the Bill observe?

One of the reasons cited for the introduction of the Bill is a spike in juvenile crime, as depicted by NCRB
data. The Standing Committee on Human Resource Development examining the Bill stated that NCRB data
was misleading as it was based on FIRs and not actual convictions. It also observed that the Bill violates
some constitutional provisions and said that the approach towards juvenile offenders should be reformative
and rehabilitative.

The Bill as introduced posed certain constitutional violations to Article 14, 20(1) and 21. These have been
addressed by deletion of the relevant clause, at the time of passing the Bill in Lok Sabha.

What does the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) say? What are the
obligations on the signatory nations?

The UNCRC was ratified by India in 1992 and the 2000 Act was consequently brought in to adhere to the
standards set by the Convention. The proposed Bill maintains this aim and seeks to improve implementation
and procedural delays experienced by the 2000 Act. The UNCRC states that signatory countries should treat
every child under the age of 18 years in the same manner and not try them as adults. While the 2000 Act
complies with this requirement, the Bill does not. However, many other countries who have also ratified the
Convention try juveniles as adults, in case of certain crimes. These countries include the UK, France,
Germany, etc. The United States is not a signatory to the UNCRC and also treats juveniles as adults in case
of certain crimes.

Under the Bill, what happens to a child who is found to be orphaned, abandoned or surrendered?

The Bill addresses children in need of care and protection. When a child is found to be orphaned, abandoned
or surrendered he is brought before a Child Welfare Committee within 24 hours. A social investigation
report is conducted for the child, and the Committee decides to either send the child to a children’s home or
any other facility it deems fit, or to declare the child to be free for adoption or foster care. The Bill outlines
the eligibility criteria for prospective parents. It also details procedures for adoption, and introduces a
provision for inter-country adoption, so that prospective parents living outside the country can adopt a child
in India.

Currently, the Guidelines Governing Adoption, 2015 under the 2000 Act, regulates adoptions. Model Foster
Care Guidelines have also recently been released by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

What are the penalties for committing offences against children?

Various penalties for committing offences against children are laid out in the Bill. These include penalties
for giving a child an intoxicating substance, selling or buying the child, cruelty against a child, etc.

Issue to consider: The penalty for giving a child an intoxicating or narcotic substance is an imprisonment of
seven years and a fine of up to one lakh rupees. Comparatively, buying or selling a child will attract a
penalty including imprisonment of five years and a fine of one lakh rupees.
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2/24/2018 the PRS Blog » The Juvenile Justice Bill, 2015: All you need to know

It remains to be seen if the Bill will be taken up for consideration in this session, and if its passage will
address the issues surrounding children in conflict with the law.

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Comments (6) Trackbacks (0) Leave a comment Trackback

1.
Shashikant Singh
December 24th, 2015 at 22:37 | #1
Reply | Quote

How come the name of Bill changed from Juvenile Justice Bill, 2014 to Juvenile Justice Bill, 2015. It
is passed by Rajaya Sabha on 22nd of December, will it be called Juvenile Justice Act, 2014 or
Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 or Juvenile Justice (Amendment) Act ?

2.
Rakesh Saha
December 25th, 2015 at 01:57 | #2
Reply | Quote

It must be needed but the thing is how does the lowest class people who mostly do that ,will come to
know and what about those who will be committed this crime just behind 16 years then this bill will be
changed once again?

3.
akhil pareek
December 25th, 2015 at 04:01 | #3
Reply | Quote

Hello PRS,
Just a quick question,the clause of juvenile being treated as adult if apprehended after 21 has been
removed from the act or not?

As the same was said to be removed as per an article in THE HINDU.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-on-passage-of-juvenile-justice-bill-lawmaking-
amid-moral-outrage/article8022371.ece

Looking for a reply from your expert team.

Thanks
Akhil

4.
amit
December 31st, 2015 at 16:37 | #4
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2/24/2018 the PRS Blog » The Juvenile Justice Bill, 2015: All you need to know

Reply | Quote

1.what do you mean by”life imprisonment only if there is codition of release”?

2.is life imprisonment for 14 years or whole life?

5.
Md faiz
January 2nd, 2016 at 01:40 | #5
Reply | Quote

Very beautifully explained. I now, understood some of the important issues.. Thanks

6.
Saurabh Gupta
June 26th, 2016 at 00:07 | #6
Reply | Quote

@amit
Ans2. imprisonment for life mean , convicted person is imprisoned till his natural death. However both
state and cenral goverment u/s 432 and 433 crpc can commute such sentence to lesser term.

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