Water Control

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ABSTRACT
“No child will commit an offence out of his/her will, they are driven by their circumstances”
A child is presumed to be innocent. The nature of crime which he commits reflects the
circumstances which prompted him/her to commit such offence. The justice delivery system
in every country requires that such child should be reformed through correctional measures
which would be provided by the government or nongovernmental institutions in the children
care institutions i.e. shelter home, observation home, special homes and place of safety etc.
However, juvenile suffers abuses, hunger and lives in unhygienic conditions in these children
care institutions. Therefore, sometimes they run away from these homes or turn into more
aggressive person. It shows that the purpose for which the observation homes are established
have failed in achieving the objectives. Therefore, in this paper the conditions of the
‘observation home’, where the children who have committed crimes are housed, are analysed
and discussed. An endeavour is also made to find out whether these observation homes really
provide the rehabilitation and reformation of the juveniles for which the Juvenile Justice Act
is enacted.
Keywords-
Juveniles, Delinquent, Observation Home, Assault, Reformation.

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CHAPTER-I
INTRODUCTION
The most interesting aspect of the subject of Juvenile Delinquency is that in every age it has
been regarded as a problem peculiar to the contemporary society while the fact is that like
adult criminal behaviour it has always existed in some form or the other and there is no
apparent reason to expect that it will not remain so in the future. This phenomenon has a two-
dimensional basis. Firstly, the violation of any code of conduct, whether for adults or for
young persons, is inevitable. Secondly, the definition of juvenile delinquency as deviant child
behaviour itself depends upon the norms laid down by society, in other words by the elders,
and clash of values due to generation gap is bound to occur1.
It is apparent, therefore, that the deviant behaviour of children has posed problems from times
immemorial, and what has changed is only the nature and definition of the behaviour
considered undesirable. The starting point for the discussion on juvenile delinquency is,
therefore, the meaning given to the expression “juvenile delinquency”.
The legal definition of juvenile delinquency is obvious. Any act prohibited by law for
children up to a prescribed age limit is juvenile delinquency and it follows, therefore, that a
child found to have committed an act of juvenile delinquency by a court is a juvenile
delinquent2.
In India, the definition of juvenile delinquency is confined to the violation of ordinary penal
law of the country so far as the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court is concerned. The present
law which governs the juveniles who are in conflict with law and children who are in need of
care and protection is called Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015
which replaces the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 20003.
The Act seeks to achieve the objectives of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Children as ratified by India on December 11, 1992. It specifies procedural safeguards in
cases of children in conflict with law. It seeks to address challenges in the existing Act such
1
Cyndi Banks, Youth, Crime & Justice, 28 (Routledge, 12-Mar-2013)
2
Sunil Kanta Bhattacharya, Juvenile Justice: An Indian Scenario, 2( Daya Books, 2000)
3
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, CARA, 2015
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as delays in adoption processes, high pendency of cases, accountability of institutions, etc.

The Act further seeks to address children in the 16-18 age group, in conflict with law, as an
increased incidence of crimes committed by them have been reported over the past few
years.The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 has come into force
from January 15, 2016 and repeals the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,
20004.
After the 2012 Delhi Gang Rape it was found that one of the accused was a few months away
from being 18. So, he was tried in a juvenile court. On 31 July 2013, Subramanian Swamy, a
BJP politician filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Supreme Court of India seeking that the
boy be tried as an adult in a court. The Court asked the juvenile court to delay its verdict.
After the Supreme Court allowed the juvenile court to give its verdict, the boy was sentenced
to 3 years in a reform home on 31 August 2013.The victim’s mother criticised the verdict and
said that by not punishing the juvenile the court was encouraging other teenagers to commit
similar crimes. In July 2014, Minister of Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi
said that they were preparing a new law which will allow 16-year-olds to be tried as adult.
She said that 50% of juvenile crimes were committed by teens who know that they get away
with it. She added that changing the law, which will allow them to be tried for murder and
rape as adults, will scare them. The bill was introduced in the Parliament by Maneka Gandhi
on 12 August 2014.On 22 April 2015, the Cabinet cleared the final version after some
changes. The government introduced the Juvenile Justice Bill in August 2014 in 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, etc. Additionally, the government cited National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)
data to say that there has been an increase in crimes committed by juveniles, especially by
those in the 16-18 years age group5.
1.1. Nature and Extent of Juvenile Delinquency in India
4
Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection
of Children) Act, 2015 https://pib.gov.in/newsite/printrelease.aspx?relid=134513
5
Ved Kumari, Juvenile Justice Bill 2014 – A Regressive Step, Journal of the Indian Law Institute, Vol. 56, No.
3 (JULY-SEPTEMBER 2014), pp. 303-319 https://ezproxy.svkm.ac.in:2113/
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To point out that juvenile delinquency is on the increase is not correct statement keeping in
view the recent statistics available to us. But it may be interesting and useful to find out the
rate at which delinquency is continuing and the types of crimes in which it is manifested in a
higher degree than in others. It will also be interesting to note the pattern of juvenile
delinquency in terms of differentials based on age, sex and religion. Crimes committed by the
juvenile may range from petty offences to heinous offences. It has been found that offences
committed by juveniles to the total IPC crimes reported in the country has shown a declining
trend since 1989. From 1.2 per cent during 1989, the share of juvenile crimes has steadily
gone down. Though it showed some marginal increase between 1995-1996, but again went
down to 0.5 per cent during 1997-1999. Under the IPC a total of 16,509 cases were registered
against juveniles during the year 2001 showing an increase of 78.1 per cent against such
cases in 2000. Similarly, a total of 8332 cases of juveniles were reported under SLL during
2001 as against 5154 cases in 2000. A good thing is that the recidivism shown by juveniles in
conflict with law indicated a decrease of 2.0 per cent over 19996.
1.2. Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000: Overview
1.2.1. Special provisions for heinous offences committed by children above the age of
sixteen years - Under Section 15, special provisions have been made to tackle child
offenders committing heinous offences in the age group of 16-18 years. The Juvenile Justice
Board is given the option to transfer cases of heinous offences by such children to a
Children’s Court (Court of Session) after conducting preliminary assessment. The provisions
provide for placing children in a ‘place of safety’ both during and after the trial till they attain
the age of 21 years after which an evaluation of the child shall be conducted by the
Children’s Court. After the evaluation, the child is either released on probation and if the
child is not reformed then the child will be sent to a jail for remaining term. The law will act
as a deterrent for child offenders committing heinous offences such as rape and murder and
will protect the rights of victim7.
6
Yogesh Snehi, State and Child Justice: Stories of Delinquent Juveniles, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.
39, No. 41 (Oct. 9-15, 2004), pp. 4512-4515
7
Gauri Pillai & Shrikrishna Upadhyay, Juvenile Maturity and Heinous crimes, 10 NUJS L.Rev. 49 (2017),
Manupatra http://docs.manupatra.in/newsline/articles/Upload/B2ED7DC9-B6A8-4780-8A9C-
C015A5C48C71.pdf
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1.2.2. Separate new chapter on Adoption to streamline adoption of orphan, abandoned

and surrendered children - To streamline adoption procedures for orphan, abandoned and
surrendered children, the existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is given the
status of a statutory body to enable it to perform its function more effectively. Separate
chapter (VIII) on Adoption provides for detailed provisions relating to adoption and
punishments for not complying with the laid down procedure. Processes have been
streamlined with timelines for both in-country and inter-country adoption including declaring
a child legally free for adoption. As per the provisions, a single or divorced person can also
adopt, but a single male cannot adopt a girl child8.
1.2.3. Inclusion of new offences committed against children - Several new offences

committed against children, which are so far not adequately covered under any other law, are
included in the Act. These include: sale and procurement of children for any purpose
including illegal adoption, corporal punishment in child care institutions, use of child by
militant groups, offences against disabled children and, kidnapping and abduction of children.
Penalties for cruelty against a child, offering a narcotic substance to a child, and abduction or
selling a child have been prescribed.
Any official, who does not report an abandoned or orphaned child within 24 hours, is liable to
imprisonment up to six months or fine of Rs 10,000 or both. The penalty for non-registration
of child care institutions is imprisonment up to one year or fine of one lakh rupees, or both.
The penalty for giving a child intoxicating liquor, narcotic or psychotropic substances is
imprisonment up to seven years or fine of one lakh rupees, or both9.
1.2.4. Mandatory registration of Child Care Institutions - All child care institutions,

whether run by State Government or by voluntary or non-governmental organisations, which
are meant, either wholly or partially for housing children, regardless of whether they receive
grants from the Government, are to be mandatorily registered under the Act within 6 months
8
Ved Kumari, Current Issues In Juvenile Justice In India, Journal of the Indian Law Institute, Vol. 41, No. 3/4
(JULY-DECEMBER 1999), pp. 392-404 (13 pages) https://ezproxy.svkm.ac.in:2113/stable/43953338?Search
9
Ibid
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from the date of commencement of the Act. Stringent penalty is provided in the law in case of
non-compliance.
Several rehabilitation and social reintegration measures have been provided for children in
conflict with law and those in need of care and protection. Under the institutional care,
children are provided with various services including education, health, nutrition, de-
addiction, treatment of diseases, vocational training, skill development, life skill education,
counselling, etc to help them assume a constructive role in the society. The variety of non-
institutional options include: sponsorship and foster care including group foster care for
placing children in a family environment which is other than child’s biological family, which
is to be selected, qualified, approved and supervised for providing care to children.
1.3. Children in Conflict with Law
The new Act strengthens the protective approach provided by the juvenile justice system
towards children in conflict with law as well as children in need of care and protection. The
'Juvenile' in conflict with law has been redefined in the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 as a 'child‘s
in conflict with law. Offences have been categorized as petty/ serious/ heinous offences.
Children in the age group of 16 - 18 years may be tried as adults in cases of heinous offences
after preliminary assessment by the Juvenile Justice Board.
A child in conflict with law will be sent to an Observation Home temporarily during
pendency of inquiry. The child will be segregated according to age, gender, physical and
mental status and nature of offence. A child who is found to have committed an offence by
the Juvenile Justice Board will be placed in a Special Home. A Place of Safety will be setup
for children above the age of 18 years or children of the age group of 16 - 18 years who are
accused or convicted for committing a heinous offence. The Place of Safety will have
separate arrangement and facilities for under trial children and convicted children. The
Juvenile Justice Board will conduct regular inspection of jails meant for adults to check if any
child is lodged in such jails and take immediate measures for transfer of such a child to the
Observation Home10.
10
Franklin E. Zimring, Maximo Langer, David S. Tanenhaus, Juvenile Justice in Global Perspective, (58, NYU
Press, 24-Jul-2015).
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The preliminary assessment by the Juvenile Justice Board is to be conducted within three
months before transferring the case to the Children ‘s Court. The Act mandates that in case
the child is tried as an adult by the Children ‘s Court, it shall ensure that the final order
includes an individual care plan for the rehabilitation of child, including follow up by the
probation officer or the District Child Protection Unit or a social worker. The Children ‘s
Court shall ensure that the child is kept in place of safety till he attains the age of twenty - one
years. When he attains the age and the term is still pending, the Children ‘s court shall
evaluate whether he need to be transferred to jail or if he has undergone reformative changes
and could be spared incarceration. The Act puts a complete embargo on capital punishment
or life imprisonment without the possibility of release for the child offenders who come to be
treated as adults by the juvenile justice administration. The decision whether the child is to be
released or sent to jail after attaining the age of 21 years will be taken by the Children‘s
Court.
The restoration and protection of a child shall be the prime objective of a Children‘s Home/
Specialized Adoption Agency/ Open Shelter. The Child Care Institution shall prepare
Individual Care Plans for children in need of care and protection or children in conflict with
law, preferably through family based care. Any child leaving a child care institution on
attaining 18 years of age may be provided with financial support11.
However, Juvenile shelter homes in India which are strictly made to enforce protection,
rehabilitation and restoration of juveniles seem to have become a disastrous place. The
juvenile homes have become homes where inmates, who are kids below 18 years of age, are
subjected to sexual assault on different levels. These kids are however, forced to live in
inhuman conditions are treated very badly in these so-called shelter/ correction homes12.
11
Elizabeth S Scott, Laurence D Steinberg, Rethinking Juvenile Justice, (52, Harvard University Press, 30-Jun-
2009)
12
Juvenile shelter homes in India have become homes of horror for many, India.com (15 August 2016)
https://www.india.com/news/india/juvenile-shelter-homes-in-india-have-become-homes-of-horror-for-many-
1491516/
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CHAPTER-II
LITERATURE REVIEWS
BOOKS
1. Title- Juvenile Justice: An Indian Scenario: Introduction

Author-Sunil Kanta Bhattacharyya
Publisher- Daya Books
Publishing year:-2000
The introduction part of the book Juvenile Justice: An Indian scenario, makes an attempt to
bring into focus the multifarious problems of the disadvantaged children in the country and
the prevailing unfavourable milieu for their normal growth and development. The chapter
brings about the history of juvenile delinquency in India from the pre-colonial era. In
pursuance of the international convention on the rights of the children, various measures have
been taken to ameliorate the plight of different categories of children in distress. In
furtherance it provides for development of Juvenile delinquency in Europe and America and
a comparison of Indian Juvenile System with that of America. The book is immensely useful
for the study of child welfare and juvenile corrections. It includes works of sociology,
psychology, anthropology and other behavioural sciences.
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2. Title - Children behind bars: Why the abuse of child imprisonment must end, I think
it’s quite like rape
Author-Willow, Carolyne
Publisher-Policy Press
Publishing year- 2015
Every day children exiled to prison are exposed to abusive and neglectful treatment, yet their
plight is hidden. The chapter four, I think it’s quite like rape is based on wide-ranging
research and first-person interviews, this passionately argued book presents the shocking
truth about the lives and torture of children in custody. Very recently, thousands of children
entering and leaving young offenders’ institutions every year were systematically forced to
take off their underwear and endure additional random searches. The children in this
correctional institution share their worst experience of assault and humiliation where the
authorities consider the children as their properties and they can do anything they want with
them. The chapter shares a experience of a 17 year old David in a Young offender Institution
where he was expected to get fully naked and asked to squat. The book presents a horrifying
image of the so-called juvenile institutions which are considered to be “correctional” for
juveniles.
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3. Title - The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Structuring Legal Reform: Right to Education

Author- Catherine Y. Kim, Daniel J. Losen, Damon T. Hewitt
Publisher- NYU Press
The "school-to-prison pipeline" is an emerging trend that pushes large numbers of at-risk
youth - particularly children of colour - out of classrooms and into the juvenile justice system.
The policies and practices that contribute to this trend can be seen as a pipeline with many
entry points, from under-resourced public schools, to the over-use of zero-tolerance
suspensions and expulsions and to the explosion of policing and arrests in public schools. The
confluence of these practices threatens to prepare an entire generation of children for a future
of incarceration.
In this comprehensive study of the relationship between American law and the school-to-
prison pipeline, analyze the current state of the law for each entry point on the pipeline and
propose legal theories and remedies to challenge them. Using specific state-based examples
and case studies, the authors assert that law can be an effective weapon in the struggle to
reduce the number of children caught in the pipeline, address the devastating consequences of
the pipeline on families and communities further the goals for which they were created: to
provide meaningful, safe opportunities for all the nation's children.
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4. Title- Prison Conditions in India: Police detention
Author- Aryeh Neier, David J. Rothman
Publisher- Human Rights Watch
Publishing year-1991
This book provides a broad overview of the international obligations and guidelines, with
respect to the care of prisoners, and summarise the various steps taken towards prison reform
in India. It then provide a brief overview of prisons in India. It also deals with the general
problems of Indian prisons, which undoubtedly play an important part in understanding the
challenges in providing mental health services to prisoners and to staff in prisons. The
particular chapter “Police Detention” of this book specially focuses on the torture, women in
police detention and the purpose of torture. It is an amalgamation of different literally texts
and personal experiences of inmates in the Indian prison. The book meets with the harsh
realities of prisons in India.
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5. Title- Human Rights and Incarceration: Critical Explorations: Children deprived of

their liberty on welfare grounds: a critical perspective
Author: Elizabeth Stanley
Publisher: Springer
Publishing year: 2018
This collection considers human rights and incarceration in relation to the liberal-democratic
states of Australia, New Zealand and the UK. It presents original case-study material on
groups that are disproportionately affected by incarceration, including indigenous
populations, children, women, those with disabilities, and refugees or 'non-citizens'. The
chapter considers how and why child rights are endored, but also how they can be built and
sustained through social, creative, cultural, legal, political and personal acts. It establishes the
need for pragmatic reforms as well as the abolition of incarceration. Contributors consider
what has, or might, work to secure rights for incarcerated populations, and they critically
analyse human rights in their legal, socio-cultural, economic and political contexts. In
covering this ground, the chapter presents a re-invigorated vision of children welfare in
relation to incarceration. After all, human rights are not static principles; they have to be
developed and fought over.
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6. Title- Juvenile Justice: A Guide to Theory, Policy, and Practice: Juvenile justice in
historical perspective
Author- Steven M. Cox, Jennifer M. Allen, Robert D. Hanser
Publisher- Sage Publication
Brief, focused, and up-to-date, Juvenile Justice: A Guide to Theory, Policy, and Practice, it
takes students on a journey through the practical realities of the juvenile justice system and
the most current topics in the field. It not only brief about the history, process, and theories of
the juvenile justice system, but they also gain access to the latest crime measurements and
explore important issues such as community-based sanctions, treatment and rehabilitation,
gangs, and international youth crime. Emphasizing evidence-based practices, this chapter of
the book brief about the history of Juvenile Justice like what would you do?, legal definitions,
behavioural definitions, official statistics, and sources and problem. The book presents real-
life examples and excellent pedagogical features. It is immensely useful for beginners in the
field of juvenile justice.
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7. Title- Youth, Crime, and Justice: Theories associated with juvenile delinquency
Author- Cyndi Banks
Publisher: Routledge
Youth, Crime and Justice takes a critical issues approach to analyzing the current debates and
issues in juvenile delinquency. It encourages readers to adopt an analytical understanding
encompassing not only juvenile crime, but also the broader context within which the
conditions of juvenile criminality occur. This chapter invites to explore the connections
between social, political, economic and cultural conditions associated with juvenile
delinquency. This chapter engages with the key topics in the debate about juvenile justice and
delinquency: juvenile institutions, delinquency theories, gender and race, youth and moral
panic, restorative justice, youth culture and delinquency. It clearly examines all the important
comparative and transnational research studies for each topic. Throughout, appropriate
qualitative studies are used to provide context and explain the theories in practice, conveying
a powerful sense of the experience of juvenile justice.
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8. Title- Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Delinquency: A Comprehensive

Framework: Moral panic over Juvenile Delinquency
Author- James C. Howell
Publisher: Sage
The book Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Delinquency: A Comprehensive Framework

aims to inform about the latest research and the most promising and effective programs and
provides a wealth of information for understanding, preventing and controlling juvenile
delinquency.
This chapter applies developmental theories of juvenile delinquency to understanding how
juvenile offender careers evolve, Reviews effective prevention and rehabilitation programs
and what does not work, Presents a comprehensive framework for building a continuum of
effective programs, Examines the history of current juvenile justice system policies and
practices, including the juvenile violence "epidemic", Discusses key myths about juvenile
violence and the ability of the juvenile justice system to handle modern-day juvenile
delinquents. It is very essential reading for juvenile justice and social services research and
development specialists.
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9. Title- Juvenile Justice: The Essentials: Causes of delinquency: Rational choice and
individual explanations
Author- Richard Lawrence, Mario Hesse
Publisher: Sage
Juvenile Justice: The Essentials provides a current, thought-provoking introduction to
juvenile justice, juvenile delinquency, the challenges of reducing juvenile crime, and of
providing equal and fair justice for all juvenile offenders. Offering a comprehensive yet
concise overview of the field s most important concepts and issues, practical examples of
juvenile justice in action; and up-to-date coverage of laws, policies, and programs in juvenile
justice. This chapter of the book presents rationale causes of juvenile delinquency, engaging
pedagogical features illustrate true-to-life cases, policies, and practices that vividly
responding to the So what? question of how delinquency theories apply in the real world.
Policy and Practice boxes explore the real-life implications of juvenile justice policy and
addresses the "What works?" questions about juvenile justice.
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10. Title- Rethinking Juvenile Justice: The science of adolescent development and
teenagers’ involvement in crime
Author: Elizabeth S Scott, Laurence D Steinberg
Publisher- Harvard University Press
What should we do with teenagers who commit crimes? In this chapter, two leading scholars
in law and adolescent development argue that juvenile justice should be grounded in the best
available psychological science, which shows that adolescence is a distinctive state of
cognitive and emotional development. Although adolescents are not children, they are also
not fully responsible adults. Childhood and adulthood are binary legal categories. In our
developmental model of juvenile justice treats adolescent offenders as a separate legal theory,
neither children whose crimes are excused nor adults who are fully responsible for their
crime. This chapter argues that this approach id the key to a fair and effective juvenile justice
system although it is not typical in the legal regulation of minors generally. It specifies that
adults are presumed to be competent and autonomous persons who are responsible for their
criminal misdeeds but deserve less punishment then do typical adult offender.
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11. Title- Juvenile Justice: Juvenile Justice: Definitions, Measurements and process
Author- Kären M. Hess, Christine H. Orthmann, John P. Wright
Publisher- Sage
Juvenile Justice helps in gain a practical and comprehensive understanding of the juvenile
justice system with, International Edition. This chapter of this book explores various
programs and processes that exist in today's juvenile justice system, including prevention
efforts through school and community-based programs. It provides a new emphasis on
evidence-based practice and other cutting-edge issues such as cyberbullying, school violence,
female delinquency, and more. It includes Definitions, Measurement and Process, The history
and philosophy behind the juvenile justice system and theories of delinquency and juvenile
offending. It talks about development risks and protective factors for youth’s in society. It
briefs about what is justice? And includes updated tables with most recently available data
and trimmed descriptive information regarding data sources.
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12. Title- Juvenile Justice: An Introduction: Explaining delinquency- Biological and

Psychological approaches
Author: John T. Whitehead, Steven P. Lab
Publisher- Routledge
Juvenile Justice: An Introduction, 8th presents a comprehensive picture of juvenile offending,

delinquency theories, and how juvenile justice actors and agencies react to delinquency. It
covers the history and development of the juvenile justice system and the unique issues
related to juveniles, offering evidence-based suggestions for successful interventions and
treatment and examining the new balance model of juvenile court. This chapter includes the
latest available statistics on juvenile crime and victimization, drug use, court processing, and
corrections, but provides insightful analysis of recent developments, such as those related to
the use of probation supervision fees; responses to gangs and cyber bullying; implementing
the deterrence model; the possible impact of drug legalization; the school-to-prison pipeline;
the extent of victimization and mental illness in institutions; and implications of major court
decisions regarding juveniles.
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13. Title- Corrections: Exploring Crime, Punishment, and Justice in America: Juvenile
corrections
Author: John T. Whitehead, Kimberly D. Dodson, Bradley D. Edwards

Publisher- Routledge
Corrections: Exploring Crime, Punishment, and Justice in America provides a thorough
introduction to the topic of corrections in America. In addition to providing complete
coverage of the history and structure of corrections, it offers a balanced account of the issues
facing the field and informed opinions regarding the process and current state of corrections
in America. The chapter “Corrections” introduces new content and fully updated information
on America’s correctional system. It includes institutional corrections for juveniles,
institutional life, the effectiveness of incarceration, new directions in institutional
interventions, community interventions, is juvenile probation effective? repairing harm to
community and effective and ineffective treatment interventions with offenders. It benefits
from its inclusion of pedagogical tools and visual elements that help clarify the material.
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14. Title: International Handbook of Juvenile Justice

Author: Scott H Decker, Nerea Marteache
Publisher- Springer Science & Business Media
Publisher year- 2006
This comprehensive reference work presents an in-depth analysis of juvenile justice systems
across the world. The second edition of this Handbook has been updated with 13 new
chapters, now covering a total of 34 countries, across North and South America, Europe,
Asia, Africa, and the Middle East from an international and comparative perspective.
The International Handbook of Juvenile Justice is the result of research conducted by a group
of outstanding scholars working in the field of juvenile justice. It reflects a collective concern
about trends in juvenile justice over the past two decades, trends that have begun to blur the
difference between criminal and juvenile justice. Each chapter is formatted to increase the
comparative aspect of the book, highlighting: The legal status of juveniles, Age of majority,
The country’s stance toward the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Trends in juvenile
crime over the period 2004-2014, Causes of juvenile crime, Policing and juveniles, Courts
and juveniles, Custodial rules for juveniles (detention, prison, mixing juveniles with adults),
Alternative sanctions for juveniles: home confinement, restorative justice, restitution, etc.,
Differences in treatment of boys and girls.
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15. Title- Child Rights in India: Law, Policy, and Practice: Introduction

Author-Asha Bajpai
Publisher- Oxford University Press
This chapter of the book “Child rights is India” describes legislation as a most important tool
for empowering children. Child rights is now considered an integral part of human rights. It
reflects the commitment of the state to promote an ideal and progressive value system. In
recent times there have been several key developments in the law, policy and practise related
to child rights. The author has critically examined the recent national and international
initiatives, the present laws, court decisions, the recent amendments and the law reforms
suggested by the law commission for setting an agenda towards protection of child rights and
their empowerment. The book includes all the new legal developments in India such as the
Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act, 2015; the new Central Adoption
Resource Agency guidelines; the Right of Children to free and compulsory Education Act,
2009; and the National Food Security Act, 2013- thus attempting to integrate the law in
theory and field practice.
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16. Title- Girls Delinquency and Juvenile Justice: The extent of Female Delinquency
Author- Meda Chesney Lind and Randal G Sheldan
Publisher- Wadsworth/Thomson Learning
This book of Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice combines cutting-edge research and
expanded coverage of girls’ delinquency, including coverage of girls in gangs and the sexual
trafficking of girls, to provide students with an accessible, up-to-date, and globally oriented
textbook. Including global perspectives and coverage of cutting-edge research, this is the only
textbook to deal exclusively with girls and crime. The second chapter of this book offers
expanded coverage of girls in gangs and emerging literature on the sexual trafficking of girls
and analyzes all existing literature on the subject of female delinquency.
Brings to light new research on a wide range of issues, including the conditions of
confinement for girls incarcerated in juvenile jails and prisons, Latina girls, and gender
responsive programming
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17. Title- Juvenile Justice System in India: From welfare to rights: Juvenile Justice
System in India
Author- Ved Kumari
Publisher- Oxford University Press
The chapter explores socio-legal and human rights dimensions of Juvenile Justice System in
India. Addressing the issue from a wide range of perspectives- sociological, demographic,
legislative, judicial, and interventionist- The Juvenile Justice System in India attempts a
macro level examination of these issues in a multidimensional perspective. The study
identifies the nature, scope, and structure of Juvenile Justice System, and analyses and
identifies the stumbling blocks in its development in India. The author draws together various
strands of complex and diverse issues where substantive and procedural lacunae relating to
Juvenile Justice System is debated and measures suggested. The Juvenile Justice System in
India provides a comparative analysis of provisions of earlier enactment for evolving a
comprehensive and integrated Juvenile Justice System in view of the vision and concerns of
the lawmakers as also the pattern of implementation under the earlier legislation.
P a g e | 25
18. Title- Juvenile Justice in Global Perspective: Juvenile Justice and Crime Policy in
Europe
Author- Franklin E. Zimring, Maximo Langer, David S. Tanenha
Publisher- NYU Press
This book is a brief of how adults are treated, juvenile justice systems and the plight of youth
who break the law throughout the world. This important volume fills a large gap in the study
of juvenile justice by providing an unprecedented comparison of criminal justice and juvenile
justice systems across the world, looking for points of comparison and policy variance that
can lead to positive change in the United States. Furthermore, the book uses its data on
criminal versus juvenile justice in a wide variety of nations to create a new explanation of
why separate juvenile and criminal courts are felt to be necessary. This chapter discusses
important issues such as the relationship between political change and juvenile justice, the
common labels used to unify juvenile systems in different regions of Europe and in different
forms of government, the types of juvenile systems that exist and how they differ, and more.
P a g e | 26
19. Title- American Youth Violence: Amerucan Youth Violence- A Profile

Author- Franklin E. Zimring
Publisher- Oxford university press
American Juvenile Justice is a definitive volume for courses on the criminology and policy
analysis of adolescence. The focus is on the principles and policy of a separate and distinct
system of juvenile justice. The chapter opens with an introduction of the creation of
adolescence, presenting a justification for the category of the juvenile or a period of partial
responsibility before full adulthood. Subsequent sections include empirical investigations of
the nature of youth criminality and legal policy toward youth crime. At the heart of the book
is an argument for a penal policy that recognizes diminished responsibility and a youth policy
that emphasizes the benefits of letting the maturing process continue with minimal
interruption. It includes important topics, US Supreme Court decisions of life sentences for
minors, the elected use of juvenile courts over criminal court, punitive sex offender
registration for juveniles, and appropriate tactics for juvenile justice reform.
P a g e | 27
20. Title- Justice for Children The Juvenile Court in Action: Conflict and crisis
Author- Allison Morris
Publisher- Cambridge University Press
This book is a stipulating read as the author have gathered contributions of quality and
diversity. This chapter is a substantial contribution to the justice debate, despite almost a
decade of use of the term justice model, it has hardly progressed in meaning beyond being all
things to all men. The essays in this volume which range from the theoretical to the pragmatic
and the political to the practical go of way to meet this criticism. A number of key issues are
raised from different perspectives in such a way as to illuminate and strengthen the justice
proposals. The gathering of this book are purely opinion based and collected from secondary
source of information.
P a g e | 28
ARTICLES
1. Title- Current Issues In Juvenile Justice In India
Author- Ved Kumari
Journal- Journal of the Indian Law Institute, Vol. 41, No. 3/4 (July-
December 1999), pp. 392-404
This paper examines the trends, practices, judicial decisions and perceptions about juvenile
justice system in India. It argues that the reconceptualization of its nature and purpose is a
precondition for changing its functioning whether under the existing legislation or under a
new legislation. It presents the implementation scenario and analyses recent judicial decisions
to highlight the injustice, which is occurring to children under the present juvenile justice
system. The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 came into force more than twelve years earlier on 2nd
Oct., 1987 bringing about a uniform juvenile justice system in the whole of India except the
state of Jammu and Kashmir. It also brought to completion the process of geographical and
differential dealing of delinquent children which had begun with the passing of the
Apprentices Act. 1850, furthered by the Reformatory Schools Act, 1897 and strengthened by
the series of Children Acts since 1920. The twin doctrines of parens patriae and mens rea
have provided the basis and sustenance for this process. It concludes by offering a different
conception of the nature of juvenile justice system in India
P a g e | 29
2. Title- Juvenile Justice Bill 2014 – A Regressive Step

Author- Ved Kumari
Journal- Journal of the Indian Law Institute, Vol. 56, No. 3 (July-
September 2014), pp. 303-319
This paper critically examines the Juvenile Justice Bill 2014 as introduced in the Lok Sabha
and argues that selective exclusion of children between the age of 16-18 years committing
heinous offences has been provided only due to the media hype created post-Nirbhaya gang
rape case in which one of the accused was a juvenile and is not supported by data, research
and scientific findings relating to adolescent brain. The bill also contravenes the provisions of
the Indian Constitution and is against India's obligations under the Convention on the Rights
of the Child. Keeping children for long duration in prison will make them hardened criminals
and not result into their reformation or rehabilitation. It is in the interest of children, women
and society at large to give each child another chance as they get into crime due to failure of
family and state to show them the right path.
P a g e | 30
3. Title- 'Bad' Juveniles and The 'Worst' Juvenile Justice Law? The Second
Challenge To Juvenile Justice Law In "Darga Ram" V. "State of
Rajasthan"
Author- B.B. Pande
Journal- Journal of the Indian Law Institute, Vol. 57, No. 1 (January-
March 2015), pp. 27-47
For over eight decades the Indian juvenile justice law followed the rhetoric of treatment and
reform over that of punishment. But the Delhi gang rape incident reversed the trend. The
reform oriented juvenile justice law was subjected to repeated challenges during 1913-14 that
came mainly from 'outsiders'. However, the second round of challenge to juvenile justice law
appears to have come from within on account of the apex court ruling and juvenile justice law
reform proposal by the government. The paper focuses on the apex court's Darga Ram
decision and the Juvenile Justice Bill 2014. The decision is critiqued for its seeming disregard
of the existing juvenile justice legality and the reform proposals are critiqued for their
international child rights implications and the national constitutional commitments to the
tender age citizens, particularly the unserved and unattended.
P a g e | 31
4. Title- State and Child Justice: Stories of Delinquent Juveniles
Author- Yogesh Snehi
Journal- Economic and Political Weekly,Vol. 39, No. 41 (Oct. 9-15, 2004),
pp. 4512-4515
The Juvenile Justice Act enacted by the government in 2000 sought to make the juvenile
justice system more appreciative of the development needs of children and to ensure its
conformity to UN guidelines. However, as narratives by juvenile delinquents reveal, the law
needs to be stringently enforced and law enforcers, including the police, need to be
adequately trained. Moreover, insensitivity on the part of the officials of juvenile homes has
to be ad- dressed seriously. It is essential to sensitise the police and the officials of these
homes. in their dealings with delinquents by providing special training to them. 'What is
necessary is to appropriately train all the functionaries under the statute, create in them the
necessary bias and motivate them adequately to arise by the demand of every situation'
(Sheela Barse vs Secretary, Children Aid Society, 1987, AIR SC 657). Finally, the entire
narrative of juvenile justice has to monitor the reasons for the abandonment of children and
their linkages with delinquency.
P a g e | 32
5. Title- Juvenile Maturity and Heinous crimes
Author- Gauri Pillai & Shrikrishna Upadhyay
Journal- 10 NUJS L.Rev. 49 (2017)
On December 22, 2015, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
received parliamentary approval, bringing forth an entirely new regime with respect to
juveniles above the age of sixteen, accused of committing heinous offences. The background
for its introduction was set by the horrific rape of a young student in 2012. The government
justified the law as a measure which would have a deterrent effect on potential juvenile
offenders. However, the opponents argue that the law would defeat the objective of having a
separate juvenile justice system, and would not serve the goal of deterrence. They instead
suggest that efforts be expended in ensuring more effective implementation of the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000. The paper analyses the viability of the mechanism
proposed by the new measure. It also evaluates the potency of the counter claim which
proposes that the existing law be better implemented, and thereby examines the necessity for
the introduction of a new approach governing juvenile policy in India.
P a g e | 33
6. Title- Descriptive Analysis of five Juvenile Justice Systems: United

States, Scotland, England, India, and South Africa
Author-Galan M Janeksela
Journal- International Review of Modern Sociology, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring

1991), pp. 1-19
This article focuses on a descriptive analysis of five juvenile justice systems: United States,
Scotland, England, India, and South Africa. Emphasizes is on each country's approaches to
defining delinquency, and processing those who are labelled officially as delinquent. The
author found that there is a dearth of information available on specific juvenile justice
systems and comparative analysis of juvenile justice systems. The literature allowed the
description of specific juvenile justice systems, however, the descriptive information
available did not allow the author to structure his presentation on a point by point comparison
of various stages of each respective juvenile justice system. In addition, the diverse nature of
the various juvenile justice systems precludes one from presenting a concise depiction of the
commonalities and differences between the various systems. Summary comparative
statements are not included in this article in that any attempt to simplify in this way would
not capture the complications inherently involved within each country's system and in cross-
cultural comparisons. For example, different terms may have different meanings in different
countries. In addition, some of the laws which define the respective categories include
exceptions and conditions which would not be reflected in simplified descriptions. This
author believes that knowledge of various juvenile justice ideas will facilitate critical analysis
and positive change in juvenile justice systems throughout the world. There is a need for
descriptive information on all juvenile justice systems in the world. This descriptive
information should be presented in a systematic manner whereby comparisons can be made
by point basis. This author envisions a resource book which would describe each of the
countries of the world with regards to a number of criteria regarding Juvenile Justice systems
operations.
P a g e | 34
7. Title- Reforming the Juvenile Justice System: The Diversion of Status

Offenders
Author- Dean G. Rojek and Maynard L. Erickson
Journal- Law & Society Review, Vol. 16, No. 2 (1981 - 1982), pp. 241-264
Diversion has emerged as one of the most popular reform tactics in the juvenile justice
system. An analysis of a two-year diversion program for status offenders revealed significant
conceptual and operational ambiguity. The notion of a progression of a delinquent career
from status to criminal offenses was not supported. The utilization of community-based
programs in place of the juvenile court resulted in agency competition for clients and lengthy
treatment programs for status offenders. Finally, the impact of specialized treatment for status
offenders on behavioural and attitudinal measures was not significant. It was concluded that
diversion programs developed exclusively for status offenders may be predicated on faulty
assumptions.
P a g e | 35
8. Title-- Warehousing or Rehabilitation? Public Schooling in the Juvenile

Justice System
Author- Harriet R. Morrison and Beverly D. Epps
Journal- The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 71, No. 3, Juvenile Justice:
Children of Color in the United States (Summer, 2002), pp. 218-232
This article examines juvenile correctional facilities, the populations served, and the
educational programs offered. Statistical information on the social indicators for young
African American males, who are overrepresented in the juvenile correctional system,
provides the backdrop for a profile of incarcerated youth. The profile is expanded through the
examination of special education programs and the role they play in the placement of young
African American males in less than ideal educational settings and the implication these
placements have for academic programs in juvenile correctional facilities. Case studies link
reality to the statistics and topics discussed.
P a g e | 36
9. Title- Innocence Lost: Case Studies of Children in the Juvenile Justice

System
Author- Geraldine Kearse Brookins and Julie A. Hirsch
Journal- The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 71, No. 3, Juvenile Justice:
Children of Color in the United States (Summer, 2002), pp. 205-217
Increasing numbers of young children enter the juvenile justice system each year while the
system has few supports to work effectively with children, families, and communities to turn
children's lives toward healthy pathways. This article examines the complexity of this process
in one community of 500 children under the age of 14. We assess many factors that influence
the developmental trajectories of young children who are at risk for harm to themselves and
others. Young offenders and their families receive myriad services, most of which are
disjointed and focused on specific problems or issues, rather than family systems. Findings
are discussed and we offer a set of preliminary recommendations.
P a g e | 37
10. Title- Justice for 'Delinquents'

Author- Manu N Kulkarni
Journal- Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, No. 26 (Jun. 25, 1994), p.
1575
There are all types of children in India- a beggar child (one who customarily indulges in
begging, whether on his own or at the behest of someone), a street child (one who spends
considerable time living and eking a livelihood on the streets), a destitute child (who does not
have any means of livelihood), an uncontrollable child (whose parents complain that the child
cannot be controlled), a maltreated child (who is beaten up and battered generally for no
reason or rhyme), and exploited child (whose labour is exploited by parents or guardians or
others for money and causing damage to the child), an abused child (who is sexually
assaulted or utilised for immoral and illegal purposes), a working child (who works or is
made to work for money and is thus deprived of school and play), a depressed child (who
suffers from emotional insecurity), a traumatised child (who has suffered a psychological
trauma), an alienated child (who is unable to relate emotionally with his/her parents), and,
finally, a delinquent child who has been found to have committed an offence under the law.
All these types of children can be clubbed under one sad category, viz, neglected children.
What can be done about them? How can all the laws, which are supposed to help them, can
be made child-friendly? Who is responsible for their neglect-the parents, the family, the state,
or the community? This article addresses these questions if we have a concern for neglected
children. Who is responsible for the neglect of children-the parents, family, state, or
community? How can the laws which are supposed to help 'delinquent' children be made
child-friendly? These and similar other questions were discussed at a workshop on Juvenile
Justice Act, 1986, organised by the National NGO Forum for Street and Working Children.
P a g e | 38
11. Title- 'Why are kids fleeing from juvenile homes?'

Journal - Times of India
URL:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/56062937.cms?
utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
This article is a brief about Rajasthan High Court decision, when 5 children fled from the
juvenile home at Sethi colony. Officials of the State Legal Service Authority, which is a party
to the suo motto petition, visited the place and found many irregularities and mismanagement
in its functioning. They noted that there is no full time caretaker in the homes and even the
gates were not properly closed at night. Besides, the unruly children were kept in the same
cell with the other children. The Court in this case gave the directions during a hearing on
vacant posts at Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committees. The court observed
that the conditions of this juvenile homes is very bad and asked what the government
authorities was doing to rectify it.
P a g e | 39
12. Title- Adolescents' cheating and delinquent behavior from a justice-

psychological perspective: the role of teacher justice
Author- Matthias Donat, Claudia Dalbert and Shanmukh Vasant Kamble
Journal- European Journal of Psychology of Education, Vol. 29, No. 4

(December 2014), pp. 635-651
The more people believe in a just world (BJW) in which they get what they deserve, the
more they are motivated to preserve a just world by ones' just behaviour. Consequently, we
expected school students with a strong BJW to show less deviant behaviour as cheating or
delinquency. The mediating role of teacher justice was also examined. Questionnaire data
were obtained from a total of N= 382 German and Indian high school students. Regression
analyses revealed that the stronger students' BJW was, the less cheating and delinquent
behaviour they reported. Moreover, the more the students believed in a just world, the more
they evaluated their teachers' behavior toward them personally to be just, and the experience
of teacher justice fully mediated the relation between BJW and cheating and delinquency,
respectively. This pattern of results was in line with our hypotheses and consistent across
different cultural contexts. It persisted when neuroticism and sex were controlled. The
adaptive functions of BJW and implications for future school research are discussed in this
article.
P a g e | 40
13. Title- Juvenile Delinquency and Social Areas
Author- Kenneth Polk
Journal- Social Problems, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Winter, 1957-1958), pp. 214-217
This paper reports the findings of a study of juvenile delinquency in San Diego, California.
The research was ecological in nature, using the framework of social area analysis. The
basic unit of analysis in the social area typology is the census tract, tract data being obtained
from the 1950 census bulletins for San Diego. There are 91 census tracts in this urban area, of
which seven were not studied because they contained predominately military populations.
The Indexes of Economic, Family, and Ethnic Status were computed in the manner suggested
by Shevky and Bell. Economic Status is based on education and occupation; Family Status on
fertility, percentage of mothers working, and percentage of single-family dwelling units; and
Ethnic Status on the percentage of persons belonging to ethnic groups living in the census
tracts.
P a g e | 41
14. Name- Life in India’s Juvenile Homes
Author- Pamposh Raina
Journal- Newyork Times
URL: https://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/life-in-indias-juvenile-
homes/
This article is about juvenile home of Delhi and the offender of Delhi Rape Case. The guilty,
who was 17 at the time of the crime, cannot be named under Indian law. He got a maximum
sentence of three years in a special home. In the home, he was kept separate from other
children in a facility known as ‘place of safety’. The accused was allowed to interact with
other inmates for a limited time to discourage discussions of his case. In the aftermath of the
Delhi gang rape case and the alleged involvement of the juvenile suspect, there was renewed
attention on the efficacy of the juvenile justice system in India because of the maximum
sentence the boy could receive. A debate over lowering the age of adult criminal
responsibility from 18 to 16 years followed. The Supreme Court of India last month
dismissed several litigations seeking a change in the age criteria.
P a g e | 42
15.Name: Juvenile shelter homes in India have become homes of horror for
many
Journal- India.com
URL: https://www.india.com/news/india/juvenile-shelter-homes-in-india-
have-become-homes-of-horror-for-many-1491516/
This article take a reality check of Juvenile shelter homes in India which are strictly made to
enforce protection, rehabilitation and restoration of juveniles seem to have become a
disastrous place. The juvenile homes have become homes where inmates, who are kids below
18 years of age, are subjected to sexual assault on different levels. These kids are however,
forced to live in inhuman conditions are treated very badly in these so-called shelter/
correction homes. Also, there is no authorized location for these juvenile homes and are
situated anywhere across India, be it a small town or the national capital. In a report that was
prepared by Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) reports cases of systematic and often
repeated sexual assault on children in juvenile justice homes. The reports say out of the total
39 cases, 11 cases were reported from government-run juvenile justice homes. These
government homes comprise of observation homes, children homes, shelter homes and
orphanages. One case a CWC member was accused of sexual harassment during counselling
sessions.
P a g e | 43
CHAPTER-III
CONDITIONS OF JUVENILE HOMES IN INDIA
Juvenile Observation homes are established to provide care and protection as well as re-
integration, rehabilitation and restoration of the juveniles in conflict with law and children in
need of care and protection. Services to the child in these homes include physical and
custodial care, medical and dental treatment, recreation, instruction according to the age of
the child and the length of his or her stay, and religious services. These homes should try to
avoid an atmosphere of fear and repression. However, many observation homes are still far
away from meeting these facilities, which require employment of trained personnel, a
superintendent, teachers, case workers, group workers and supervisors. Various studies,
however, states that inmates in observation homes are subjected to sexual assault and
exploitation, torture and ill treatment apart from being forced to live in those conditions. The
girls remain the most vulnerable as they fall easy prey of sexual abuses13.
Juvenile shelter homes in India which are strictly made to enforce protection, rehabilitation
and restoration of juveniles seem to have become a disastrous place. The juvenile homes have
become homes where inmates, who are kids below 18 years of age, are subjected to sexual
assault on different levels. These kids are however, forced to live in inhuman conditions are
treated very badly in these so-called shelter/ correction homes. Also, there is no authorized
location for these juvenile homes and are situated anywhere across India, be it a small town
or the national capital14.
3.1. Family Background
Broken families, lack of parental affection and security, lack of family ties, divorce and
separation of parents are some of the factors that contribute in ruining the life of a child. As
per the report of the ‘Empowerment of Children and Human Rights Organization’ (ECHO)
on the observation home of Bangalore, it was revealed that a majority of 94 boys were not
13
Meda Chesney Lind and Randal G Sheldan, Girls Delinquency and Juvenile Justice (41, Wadsworth/Thomson
Learning, 2004)
14
Pamposh Raina, Life in India’s Juvenile Homes, (August 2013 10:41 AM)
https://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/life-in-indias-juvenile-homes/
P a g e | 44
under parental care. Also, about 89 per cent of them came from poor economic background.
The report states that those facing economic stress in their day-to-day lives are forced to work
at a young age where they get in touch with anti-social groups; most of the juveniles are
school dropouts and come from families below the poverty line. Migration is also seen as a
factor that leads children to delinquent behavior. Another study shows that broken homes are
an important factor behind children turning to crime. Therefore, majorly a family plays an
important role in making a juvenile into a delinquent15.
3. 1.1.Assault
The criminal justice system in our country should be reviewed for making it more purposeful
and effective. Once a child is taken into custody for committing a crime, he is placed in
observation home pending his trial. While he is in observation home he receives two types of
assault. The first type of assault is physical in nature and the second is sexual16.
3. 1.2. Physical Assault
Torture, usually in the form of severe beatings with fists, lathis, or other instruments, and
kicking is a common feature of police treatment of street children. The brutality of police in
the course of investigating crime, especially in investigations of crimes against property, and
as a form of retribution or punishment is acknowledged characteristics of police behavior.
There are number of complaints and cases where a juvenile is beaten up by the police
authorities as soon as he is brought in an observation home and later by the senior inmates.
They are forced to accept their involvement in criminal cases. Many observers have
documented the tendency of police to arrest and detain children in inhuman condition without
good reason. A study sponsored by the Indian Ministry of Labour and UNICEF on the plight
of street children in Bombay noted:
15
John T. Whitehead, Steven P. Lab, Juvenile Justice: An Introduction, Explaining delinquency- Biological and
Psychological approaches, (67, Routledge, 20-Feb-2015)
16
Willow, Carolyne, Children behind bars: Why the abuse of child imprisonment must end, I think it’s quite like
rape (78, Policy Press, 11-Feb-2015)
P a g e | 45
“The most common complaint of street children without families was that they are rounded
up and locked up by the police for two or three days merely on suspicion. This they explained
was done to fill the ‘quota’ which police are expected to do.”
Further an NGO representative and Human Right Activist stated that ‘For their reports and to
make money, the police lock up a few children and majors every day, only to release them
later after having taken their money and/or beaten them up. A few are also presented to the
magistrate to show proof that the police are performing their duties’.17
3.3.3. Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is the second type of treatment meted by the children in observation homes. In
an incident, a 14-year-old juvenile from Jamnagar was sodomised allegedly by the four boys
at the observation home on Gondal Road, Rajkot. They allegedly also beat four inmates with
polymer pipes and two of the accused forced others to perform oral sex. They also filmed the
victims naked. The peon who was on duty when the incident took place at the observation
home, did not made any attempt to stop this incident or to report this incident. There are
many surveys, and reported incidents of sexual abuse on children in observation homes.
Many victims are threatened with knife and blades for sexual abuse. This use of force also
results in extensive injuries to victims’ genitalia, which facilitate transmission of sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs). They are touched in disturbing ways, forced to expose genitalia
and finally forced into sex18.
It has been found that in many cases the perpetrators are staff members including caretakers,
security guards, etc in the observation homes. In most of the cases, the sexual assault
continues for a longer period as victims are not ready to dissent and endure quietly in the
absence of inspection. The incidents where, two minor girls were assaulted by the manager in
17
'Why are kids fleeing from juvenile homes?', Times of India, (Dec 19, 2016, 14:40 IST)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/56062937.cms?
18
Juvenile shelter homes in India have become homes of horror for many, India.com (15 August 2016)
https://www.india.com/news/india/juvenile-shelter-homes-in-india-have-become-homes-of-horror-for-many-
1491516/
P a g e | 46
Odisha observation home, or boys sodomised by guards and senior inmates at govt. home for
boys, Delhi.
Child rape is a common feature. A 2013 report by the Asian Centre for Human Rights
(ACHR), states that juvenile justice homes have become India’s hell holes where inmates are
subjected to sexual assault and exploitation, torture and ill-treatment, apart from being forced
to live in inhuman conditions. It highlights 39 cases of repeated sexual assault on children in
juvenile justice homes, including government-run observation homes, children’s homes,
shelter homes and orphanages. Recently, the National Commission for Protection of Child
Rights has reported that it has registered 77 complaints/cases concerning child abuse, sexual
exploitation, torture, ill treatment, disappearance, running away of children, lack of
residential facilities and other irregularities committed in the child care institutions including
observation and special homes across the country in four years19.
3.4. Cruelty by other inmates
Another situation which should be seriously considered is the nature and age of inmates in
the observation home. Under the Act, juvenile alleged to have committed a bailable or non
bailable offence are brought before the Juvenile Justice Board, where they are released under
the supervision of a probation officer. Those juveniles, who are not released on bail by the
Board, are sent to the observation home, pending inquiry. The juveniles who were alleged to
have committed a serious offence were also housed in observation homes during the period of
inquiry, which affect the mindset of junior inmates or those who were not party to serious
offences. It has been reported by the inmates that those juveniles who are alleged of
committing offence for the second time or more, takes the position of senior inmates 20.
Therefore in the observation homes there are two categories of inmates, junior and senior.
Once junior inmates are tortured by the police authorities, they are then given to the senior
19
Willow, Carolyne, Children behind bars: Why the abuse of child imprisonment must end, I think it’s quite like
rape (78, Policy Press, 11-Feb-2015)
20
Harriet R. Morrison and Beverly D. Epps, Warehousing or Rehabilitation? Public Schooling in the Juvenile
Justice System, The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 71, No. 3, Juvenile Justice: Children of Color in the
United States (Summer, 2002), pp. 218-232 (15 pages) https://ezproxy.svkm.ac.in:2113/stable/3211237?Search
P a g e | 47
inmates for further beatings and other abuses. As per one of the incident, in December 2013,
the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) received allegations of
physical abuse in a juvenile observation home in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The allegations were
made by a 17-year-old boy, who was among 43 children who escaped from the home. He
alleged that the mass escape was prompted by repeated instances of physical and sexual
abuse of juveniles by older youths living in the observation home. Most of them were
repeated offenders.
3.5. Hygiene in observation homes
Observation homes take a little care of hygiene. In sharp contrast with the ambitious goals
outlined by the Indian government in the Juvenile Justice Act, the life of children is more
horrifying than the family environment they escaped and often more wretched than the life on
the streets. According to one of the study, the food supplied by the government into these
observation homes, i.e., three meals a day is considerably a meagre portion which is hardly
nutritious and largely inadequate. Many of them display obvious signs of malnutrition, when
they are consumed out of hunger; they gave them painful stomach cramps. “The dishes are
not always washed after every meal. With the stale rice they are given for lunch and dinner,
the children often find worms and cockroaches crawling over the leftovers from previous
meals, still stuck to the plates” The children’s health conditions are a major cause of concern.
Scarce hygiene, insufficient nutrition, and the lack of space render the children easy prey to a
variety of highly contagious diseases. The children are allowed to change clothes very
infrequently. The guards do not clean the halls and bathrooms, which are infested with
cockroaches and lice. As a result many children develop skin infections, dysentery, herpes
zoster, genital warts, and sexually transmitted diseases. The home also does not provide
medicines or the manpower to take the children to the Government Hospital. Water shortage,
lack of drainage systems, working toilets - all this makes the hygiene levels in the homes
extremely low21.
3.6. Superintendents as perpetrators of crime in observation homes

21
Geraldine Kearse Brookins and Julie A. Hirsch, Innocence Lost: Case Studies of Children in the Juvenile
Justice System, The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 71, No. 3, Juvenile Justice: Children of Color in the
United States (Summer, 2002), pp. 205-217 (13 pages) https://ezproxy.svkm.ac.in:2113/stable/3211237?Search
P a g e | 48
The Act nowhere defines the meaning of the term ‘superintendent or care taker’. The
superintendent, under the Rules. however, is a person who is required to stay in the
observation home and supervise the overall care of the children or juveniles and take
decisions in the case of any crisis and emergency 22. In case he/she is unable to stay in the
home for legitimate reasons than any other senior staff member of the observation home shall
stay in the institution. He is the officer-in-charge of the observation home till the release of
the person from that home. He is assisted by the staff members of the home. He is entrusted
to provide various facilities to the juvenile inmates during their temporal stay which includes,
food, clothes, medication in case of illness to the inmates etc. The Act does not prescribe any
check on the exercise of these functions by the superintendant. On the contrary, in many
cases the superintendent has been accused of committing physical and sexual abuse of the
juveniles. As a result many of the juvenile abscond from the observation homes. In one of the
case action was taken against the superintendent of observation home for
“willfully neglecting the victim and exposing him to physical suffering” by six senior
inmates. In another incident, a minor boy was allegedly subjected to sexual harassment by a
guard on duty at the government observation home in Sukher, Rajasthan, whereby notice was
issued to the superintendent. 35 Similarly in one such incident children of the observation
home at Poojappura alleged routine physical assault by the caretaker against a disabled
inmate. The charges were made before a visiting team comprising of the Legislative
Committee for the Welfare of Women and Children. During interaction with other inmates it
was revealed that they were also subjected to caning by the caretakers on a regular basis. The
committee responded by stating that action would be taken against the caretakers. But there
are many such cases where the ill treatment by the caretakers or superintendents goes
unreported23.
CHAPTER-4
22
Richard Lawrence, Mario Hesse, Juvenile Justice: The Essentials, (SAGE, 30-Sep-2009)
23
Manu N Kulkarni, Justice for 'Delinquents', Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 29, No. 26 (Jun. 25, 1994),
p. 1575 (1 page), https://ezproxy.svkm.ac.in:2113/stable/4401387?Search
P a g e | 49
JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM: USA AND INDIA
It is difficult to present a description of "Juvenile Justice in the United States," because the
United States includes fifty-one political jurisdictions (fifty states and the District of
Columbia) which have legal authority to define "delinquency"1. In addition, each state
includes counties and each county includes cities, villages, and townships. Each of these
entities have: (1) legal authority which may affect the nature of the juvenile justice system;
and (2) resources which may or may not be committed to the juvenile justice system.
Although juvenile justice in the United States is characterized by complex political
jurisdictions, there are some common elements to juvenile justice in the United States. The
following discussion attempts to depict some of these common elements, as well as identify
some of the alternatives that exist24.
4.1. Apprehension
The juvenile offender may be apprehended by a community agency (e.g., school authorities),
but, in most cases, the juvenile will be apprehended by the police. In other words, police
involvement is usually in response to a specific complaint against a child25.
4.2. Diversion
Upon arrest, a juvenile may be transferred to a social agency for treatment, unconditionally
released, or released on certain conditions (for example, may courts have a diversion program
whereby first offenders can be released if the child and his2 family agree to comply with
certain conditions to be fulfilled during a defined period to time (e.g. a six month)
supervision, restitution, family counselling, improvement of school attendance, improved
school performance, marriage counselling, periodic visit to the intake service, and
involvement in ancillary services available to the juvenile court in some supervision26.
4.3. Police Procedures

24
John T. Whitehead, Kimberly D. Dodson, Bradley D. Edwards, Corrections: Exploring Crime, Punishment,
and Justice in America, (71, Routledge, 28-Sep-2012)
25
James C. Howell, Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Delinquency: A Comprehensive Framework, (34, SAGE,
2009 - Social Science)
26
ibid
P a g e | 50
The apprehended juvenile may be reprimanded and released, or the police officer may serve
as a problem resolver between the complaining party and the juvenile and/or his parents. If
the problem is resolved, disposition of the complaint is informal, but, the police will usually
make a written report of the incident. Informal disposition is usually an alternative when less
serious offenses are involved. Many police departments have Police Juvenile Units. If the
juvenile is apprehended and brought to the Police Juvenile Unit of the police department, the
Police Juvenile Unit may attempt to resolve the conflict between the complaining party and
the juvenile and/or his parents. However, non-judicial resolution is more likely to occur in the
field. In the Police Juvenile Unit, the juvenile is assigned to a juvenile officer. The juvenile
officer disposes of the case by selecting one of the following options: (1) release to parents
with official reprimand; (2) release with official report of the field interrogation; (3) release to
some other juvenile agency; (4) refer to juvenile court without detention; or (5) refer to
juvenile court with detention (Kansas Standards and Goals for Juvenile Justice, 1975)27.
4.4. Detention
Before a juvenile is placed in a detention facility, an intake officer obtains information

regarding the incident, the juvenile, and his family. If the intake officer refers the juvenile to
a detention facility, a written report of the incident must be submitted to the juvenile court. In
most states the juvenile can be held in detention for up to forty-eight hours without a court
order. If a juvenile is to be detained beyond forty-eight hours, a detention hearing takes place
within this period. When the need for a detention hearing is determined, the court is required
to: (1) set the time and place for the hearing immediately; (2) appoint a guardian ad litem if
the child is not represented by counsel; (3) provide a written notice to a juvenile's parents (or
guardian) 24 hours prior to the detention hearing. At the detention hearing, the presiding
judge will decide whether or not the juvenile will be held while awaiting the plea hearing and
the adjudicatory hearing. In many courts, the intake counselor makes a recommendation to
the judge who determines if there is probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed the
alleged act28.
27
Elizabeth S Scott, Laurence D Steinberg, Rethinking Juvenile Justice, (32, Harvard University Press, 30-Jun-
2009)
28
Supra n.7
P a g e | 51
4.5. The Judicial Process
If the intake counsellor and judge decide further legal proceedings are necessary, the district
or county attorney is notified and a charge sheet is drawn up. A recommendation from the
police department or a complainant's petition is required before a juvenile appears in juvenile
court. When a petition is filed with the juvenile court, a probation officer is assigned, but he
does not become involved with the juvenile unless the juvenile is detained prior to
adjudication (Kansas Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, 1975). The pretrial procedural
steps in the juvenile court are as follows:(l) complaints go to the clerk of the court; (2) a
probation officer is assigned; (3) the probation officer interviews parents; (4) the probation
officer inquires into circumstances of the alleged problem; (5) arraignment; (6) the probation
officer presents the complaint; and (7) a public defender is appointed (Emerson, 1969). Many
states have four separate hearings for juveniles; (1) the detention hearing is the hearing to
determine whether or not the juvenile should be held in custody pending the plea hearing; (2)
the plea hearing is that hearing where the juvenile admits or denies involvement in the
alleged misbehaviour (i.e., arraignment); (3) the adjudicatory hearing is to determine whether
or not the juvenile committed the alleged delinquent act; and (4) the dispositional hearing is
the hearing to determine that disposition which is in the best interests of the child and the
community (however, in some states the judge conducts the plea hearing, the adjudicatory
hearing, and the disposition hearing at the same time.
The adjudicatory hearing must be scheduled within two weeks of the detention hearing. This
hearing involves a prosecuting attorney, a defense counsel, and the juvenile court judge. The
guardian ad litem (the court appointed representative of the juvenile) plays a crucial role in
safeguarding the rights of the juvenile and his or her family3. As a result of the adjudicatory
hearing, the juvenile may be dismissed with a warning to both the juvenile and his parents or
the judge may conclude that the juvenile did not commit the alleged act. If the court finds that
the juvenile did commit the alleged act, the judge will then schedule a dispositional hearing.
If the judge conducts the adjudication and the disposition in the same hearing, he will have
information about the alleged offense and the social history of the child and his family at the
hearing.
P a g e | 52
In rare cases, the juvenile may be transferred to adult court. Prior to transfer of jurisdiction, a
waiver hearing must be held (the criteria for transfer to adult court are specified in the Kent
decision). If he is tried and found guilty in an adult court, he may be sentenced to an adult
prison.
Prior to the disposition hearing, the juvenile court judge reviews the social history of the
juvenile which is prepared by a probation officer, the social history includes information
regarding prior offenses, current offenses, family relationships, school records, prior contact
with the police, and the probation officer's recommendations. At the dispositional hearing, the
judge will make a decision in the "best interests of the child and the community." The
traditional alternatives include the following: probation, a state juvenile institution (youth
center), foster care, a private agency, or a community-based facility. In some states, parents
may request that their child be placed in a private institution. However, this is not financially
feasible for most families. When placed on probation, the child is under the supervision of a
probation officer, and he continues to function in the community. If the child's home is
unsuitable, he may be placed in a foster home or in a private institution. If the juvenile has
committed a serious offense or if he is a recidivist, he may be committed to a juvenile
institution. When the juvenile is released from the institution, he is usually placed under the
supervision of a parole officer for a given period of time. In nearly all cases, the juvenile
eventually will return to the community29.
CASE STUDIES
Indian case
29
Catherine Y. Kim, Daniel J. Losen, Damon T. Hewitt, The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Structuring Legal
Reforms, (66, NYU Press, 01-Apr-2012 - Law)
P a g e | 53
1. Sampurna Behrua vs Union of India & Ors30
Petitioner: Sampurna Behrua
Respondent: Union of India & Ors
Citation: WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 473 OF 2005
Date of judgement: 9 Feb, 2018
Bench: Madan B. Lokur, J.
The writ petition drew attention to the failure of the state governments to implement the
provisions of the Act and the truly horrific conditions in Homes for children across the
country. It noted, for instance, that the special juvenile home for boys at Hoshiyarpur and
observation home for boys at Faridkot in Punjab were analogous to prisons, with uniformed
and armed policemen standing guard. In an observation home in Beed in Maharashtra, the
petition said, children were kept confined to a cell and were only allowed to relieve
themselves in the cell in a plastic bottle. In homes in Mujaffarpur and Darbhanga in Bihar,
the children were forced to cook their own food and clean their utensils since no cook had
been appointed and the children had no option but to starve if they did not cook. These homes
also had only one toilet with snakes freely wandering around. Further, the Mujaffarpur home
did not have regular electricity. These cases illustrated the violation of children’s right to live
with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution and other statutory rights under the JJ Act.
In the course of the case, the court admitted numerous affidavits and reports from the
petitioner, the respondent states, the ministry of women and child development (MWCD),
NALSA and the Additional Solicitor General to ascertain the scope of the work that remained
to be done to defend the rights of children in India.
In its lengthy judgement, the court hoped that the MWCD in the central and state
governments would ensure that the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR) and the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) performed
30
(R)WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 473 OF 2005
P a g e | 54
optimally. It also said that the constitution of State Child Protection Society and District
Child Protection Units needed to include the police and members of civil societies.
Addressing the lack of safe shelters for children in conflict with the law, the court urged
every state to evaluate the condition of their Child Care Institutions as well as to provide
education, healthcare, and proper nutrition to its residents. The court reiterated that
government registration in accordance with the provisions of the JJ Act was compulsory for
child care institutions run by individuals or NGOs to avoid incidents of trafficking or child
sexual abuse. Finally, the court hoped that audits would be carried out every six months to
supervise the implementation of the JJ Act across the country. It directed NALSA to prepare
a report on the JJ Act before April 30, 2018 to ‘assist all policy making and decision taking
authorities to plan out their affairs’.
2. Arnit Das v. State of Bihar
Petitioner: ARNIT DAS
Respondent: STATE OF BIHAR
Citation: AIR 2001 SC 357531
Date of judgement: 09/05/2000
Bench: K.T.Thomas, R.C.Lahoti
Ever since the 1920s, when as a sequel to the Indian Jail Committee (1919-20)
recommendations, comprehensive Children Acts were first enacted in the Provinces of
Madras (1920), Bengal (1922) and Bombay (1924), the twin concepts of "juvenile
delinquency" and "juvenile justice" have gone through a constant process of evolution and
refinement. That is the reason why today we can identify with a fair degree of certitude
certain core notions and ideas as the distinguishing features of the Indian juvenile justice
system, which are used as a touchstone for internal as well as transnational evaluations. Such
core notions undergo changes through a process of conscious law reforms, which includes
both legislative as well as judicial reforms. But, at times, we do encounter thought currents
that run counter to the settled notions and tend to unsettle the accepted meanings and
31
AIR 2001 SC 3575
P a g e | 55
understandings. Arnit Das v. State of Bihar1 is a recent Supreme Court ruling that has the
potential of unsettling many concretized notions and ideas of the Indian juvenile justice
system. In the following pages we attempt to understand the ruling and trace out its
immediate and far-reaching implications.
Arnit Das, a youth on the borderline of childhood and adulthood, was involved in a murder.
On the basis of his statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in which
it was claimed that on the day of the incident he was 13 days short of 16 years, Arnit was
remanded to a juvenile home. The prosecution disputed the age claim and got the matter
referred to an inquiry in terms of Section 32(1) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986. The finding
of the inquiry was that Arnit was above 16 years on the day of the alleged incident and, thus,
not entitled to a trial as a juvenile. In appeal and revision, the age and the jurisdictional
finding of the ACJM were upheld by the Sessions Court as well as the High Court. The
petitioner came to the Supreme Court by way of a leave to appeal. The Supreme Court
framed the following two issues for consideration:
1. For determining the juvenile status, at what point of time is the age to be taken into
account?
2. Whether in the present case the finding as to age is sustainable?
In an inquiry conducted under Section 32 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 (hereinafter
referred to as 'the 1986 Act') The Trial Court recorded a finding to the effect that petitioner
Amit Das was not a juvenile on the date of occurrence. This finding was upheld by the
learned Sessions Judge in an appeal filed by petitioner-Amit Das. The High Court also
dismissed revision petition filed by the petitioner against that finding. Order of the High
Court was put in issue by the petition in SLP (Crl.) 729/2000. In an appeal (Criminal Appeal
No. 469/ 2000) arising out of that special leave petition (since reported as Amit Das v. State
of Bihar, (2000) 5 SCC 488], dealing with that issue, it was observed. So far as the finding
regarding the age of the appellant is concerned it is based on appreciation of evidence and
arrived at after taking into consideration the material available on record and valid reasons
having been assigned for it. The finding arrived at by the learned ACJM has been maintained
by the Sessions Court in appeal and the High Court in revision. We find no case having been
made out for interfering therewith."
P a g e | 56
(2.) Thus, this Court also affirmed the concurrent findings regarding the age of the petitioner
and that on the date of the offence, the petitioner was not a juvenile within the meaning of the
provisions of the 1986 Act.
(3.) After the judgment in Crl. Appeal No. 469/2000 was delivered by this Court on 9th May,
2000, the petitioner filed a review petition seeking review of that judgment. In the
memorandum of review petition, the only issue raised is to the effect that the two Judge
Bench deciding Amit Das v. State of Bihar, (supra), while holding that crucial date to
determine whether an accused is a juvenile or not under the 1986 Act is the date on which the
accused first appears in the Court in inquiry proceedings, has overlooked the earlier view of a
three Judge Bench in the case of Umesh Chandra v, State of Rajasthan, (1982) 2 SCC 202,
wherein it had been held that crucial date in such cases is the date on which offence was
committed and not when the accused first appears before the Court in inquiry proceedings.
The correctness of the finding that Petitioner was not a juvenile (under the 1986 Act) on the
basis of the offence, has not been put in issue in the memorandum of the review petition.;
American cases
3. J.J. V. Litscher32
Petitioner: J.J.
Respondent: Litscher
Citation: 3:17-cv-00047 ( W.D. Wis. )
Date of judgement: January 23, 2017
Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
Juvenile Law Center, with co-counsel ACLU of Wisconsin and Quarles & Brady, LLP, filed
a federal civil rights class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of
Wisconsin against Wisconsin juvenile corrections officials and administrators of two
correctional facilitates, the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and the Copper Lake School for
Girls.
32
17-CV-47
P a g e | 57
Collectively, the facilities hold approximately 165-180 boys and girls. Most are African-
American youth from Milwaukee, which is 215 miles away from the facilities. Both facilities
excessively use solitary confinement, restraints, and pepper spray on youth.
Approximately 15-20% of the youth population in these facilities are in solitary confinement,
isolated for 22 to 23 hours per day in a seven by ten-foot cell. Youth are often sent to solitary
for 30 to 60 days at a time, and many are forced to spend their one free hour outside of
solitary “on the belt,” meaning that they are in handcuffs attached to a belt. Often they are
also chained to a table. While in solitary, youth only get one hour of education per day and
are even denied therapeutic programs that are supposed to help rehabilitate them. Officers at
these facilities routinely use “Bear Mace” and other pepper sprays on youth for nonviolent
infractions. The burning and temporary blindness can last for days, and guards fail to
appropriately help youth who have been pepper sprayed.
These practices are serious violations of the youth’s constitutional rights, including their
rights to substantive due process, as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, and their right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment, as guaranteed by
the Eighth Amendment.
The court gave the parties two weeks to submit proposed terms of an injunction based upon
its ruling, and then issued a preliminary injunction on July 10. The injunction requires
sweeping changes to facility practices, including barring the use of solitary confinement for
minor infractions or non-violent offenses, restricting placement of youth with mental health
conditions in solitary, significantly limiting the permitted periods of isolation, and ensuring
that youth in solitary receive education, rehabilitative programming, health services, and
meaningful time out of their cells. The injunction also significantly curtails the use of paper
spray and mechanical restraints, and it outlaws the facility’s practice of tethering youth to
fixed objects, such as tables, when they are out of their cells 33. In September of 2017, the
court certified class as: “All persons who are now, or in the future will be, confined at
Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls.” In January 2018, the state
of Wisconsin passed legislation to close the two controversial facilities by 2021.
33
Meda Chesney Lind and Randal G Sheldan, Girls Delinquency and Juvenile Justice (41, Wadsworth/Thomson
Learning, 2004)
P a g e | 58
On June 1, 2018, the State of Wisconsin agreed to settle the lawsuit. Key terms of the
settlement include: fully eliminating punitive solitary confinement within 10 months, fully
eliminating the use of pepper spray within 12 months, strictly limiting the use of all forms of
mechanical restraints, and prohibiting strip searches without individualized probable cause.
Additionally, all staff at the facilities will receive de-escalation training by a nationally
recognized provider and the facilities will be regularly monitored by an individual with
expertise in juvenile corrections. “While the biggest step forward for youth is the closure of
Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, today’s settlement is also an important win,” said Jessica
Feierman, Associate Director of Juvenile Law Center. “The agreement establishes crucial
safeguards against the harms of solitary confinement, restraints, pepper spray and strip
searches.”
4. In re Gault34
Petitioner: Gerald Gault
Respondent: 387 U.S. 1, 87 S. Ct. 1428 (1967)
Citation: State Industrial School
Date of judgement: March 18, 1963
FACTS:
Appellants' 15-year-old son, Gerald Gault, was taken into custody as the result of a complaint
that he had made lewd telephone calls. After hearings before a juvenile court judge, Gerald
was ordered committed to the State Industrial School as a juvenile delinquent until he should
reach majority. Appellants brought a habeas corpus action in the state courts to challenge the
constitutionality of the Arizona Juvenile Code and the procedure actually used in Gerald's
case, on the ground of denial of various procedural due process rights. The State Supreme
Court affirmed dismissal of the writ. Agreeing that the constitutional guarantee of due
process applies to proceedings in which juveniles are charged as delinquents, the court held
that the Arizona Juvenile Code impliedly includes the requirements of due process in
34
387 U.S. 1, 87 S. Ct. 1428 (1967)
P a g e | 59
delinquency proceedings, and that such due process requirements were not offended by the
procedure leading to Gerald's commitment.
ISSUE:
Were Gerald and his parents denied due process rights with regard to Gerald’s charge of
being delinquent?
CONCLUSION:
The Court disagreed with the lower court's conclusion that the Gerald and his parents
received due process. The delinquency petition was in general terms, and it was not served on
the Gerald or his parents. In addition Gerald and his parents were not notified of Gerald's
right to be represented by counsel. Gerald had been denied the rights of confrontation and
cross-examination in the juvenile court hearings because the complaining neighbor was not
called as a witness, and the privilege against self-incrimination was not observed because the
Gerald’s confession was obtained out of the presence of his parents, without counsel, and
without advising him of his right to remain silent.
CHAPTER-5
5.1. CONCLUSION
The law was in contradiction with international standards and that most children who break
the law come from poor and illiterate families. They should be educated instead of being
punished. Many experts and activists viewed post December 2012 Delhi Gang Rape
P a g e | 60
responses as creation of media sensationalisation of the issue, and cautioned against any
regressive move to disturb the momentum of Juvenile Justice Legislation in the Country.
However, some sections in the society felt that in view of terrorism and other serious
offences, Juvenile Justice Act of 2000 needed to be amended to include punitive approaches
in the existing Juvenile Justice Law, which so far is purely rehabilitative and reformative.
Some argued that there is no need of tampering with Juvenile Justice Act for putting up
effective deterrent against terrorism. Retired Judge of Delhi High Court, Justice RS Sodhi on
8 August 2015 told Hindustan Times, "We are a civilised nation and if we become barbaric
by twisting our own laws, then the enemy will succeed in destroying our social structure. We
should not allow that but we must condemn this move of sending children to fight their war”.
They have been saying there is no need to carve out an exception for children in a particular
age group solely based on the perceived heinousness of the offence. The division into two
groups — one below 16 and another above 16 — goes against the core principle that all
children should be treated as such till the age of 18. This age has been fixed based on studies
in child behaviour and the U.N. Convention of the Rights of the Child. A parliamentary
Standing Committee opposed the change, noting that subjecting juveniles to the adult judicial
system would go against the objective of protecting all children from the rigours of adult
justice. It noted that the Supreme Court had not agreed with the view that children involved
in certain offences should be tried as adults. Children are the future of a society. They should
be nurtured with the best of facilities. They do make mistakes and sometimes, serious in
nature. They are not hard core criminals but mere miscreants, who rarely understand the
consequences of their act. The legislature requires them to be observed and rehabilitated
under the ‘observation homes’. In these homes, the children who have become juveniles, are
observed but, not rehabilitated. Their observation is under the police officials, who do not
provide them the space for rehabilitation. In reality, they are ill-treated by the police and
senior inmates. They are not provided sufficient food, nutritious food remains a dream. They
are given the worst of hygienic conditions, where catching infection is a regular activity. And
after few months they are expected to return to the society with correctional behaviors.
Acquitted or convicted, a juvenile is not taken by the society with dignity. In most of the
cases the juveniles repeat their offence and this time with more aggression. And this is what
makes them ‘criminals’. In an incident, 17-year-old boy, who had kidnapped and killed a
P a g e | 61
child, was released from a juvenile home for ‘good behaviour’. But two months after his
release he murdered an elderly woman in her home in South Delhi. 56 Amending the
legislation does not always solve the problem. The present legislation provides for creation of
more observation homes with special and trained police officers and a Board to ensure
juvenile justice through adjudication. Even then there is no change in the machinery of
making more ‘criminals’. Nowadays these juveniles are hired for committing serious
offences, with new weapons and new techniques. The issue of reforming the juveniles should
be taken seriously by the legislatures, administrators of observation homes, parents and
society as it is just the beginning and not the end.
There was never any doubt that the progressive juvenile law enacted in 2000 was not being
implemented properly and that there was a need to revisit its provisions. In many ways, the
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015, passed by the Lok Sabha, is a
forward-looking and comprehensive enactment that provides for dealing with children in
conflict with the law and those requiring care and protection. However, its laudable features
have been overshadowed by one provision that states that children in the 16-18 age group
will henceforth be tried as adults if they are accused of committing ‘heinous offences’. The
government believes that the provision will help address public disquiet over the perception
that young offenders are getting away with light punishment after committing crimes such as
murder and rape.
5.2. SUGGESTIONS
The observation homes aim at sheltering young offenders and also reorient and retrain them
through counseling and vocational training to lead normal life when they go back to their
parents or homes. There are certain measures which can be adopted by the state government
in complying with this objective.
P a g e | 62
Under the Act,48 the Juvenile Justice Board has been given the power of conduction at least
one inspection every month of residential facilitates for children in conflict with law and then
to recommend action for improvement in quality of services provided in these homes to the
District Child Protection Unit and the State Government. The main feature of this provision is
regularity in conducting such inspection. However, inspection may be conducted into a
different manner, whereby the performances of observation homes may be evaluated by
granting them grades. Recently, carrying with this intent a correctional attempt was made by
a government resolution which was issued on July 13, 2015, and which directed the
authorities to check observation homes for overall maintenance and rules laid down by the
Child Welfare Committee and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,
2000.49 To address the abovementioned complaints and fix problems plaguing the
functioning of observation homes, the state women and child development department along
with the revenue department started grading their performances. Of the total 994 observation
homes across the state, officials inspected 874, out of which 421 were given A grade (above
90 per cent) , 250 were given B grade (above 80 per cent), 67 were given C grade (above 70
per cent) and 136 were given D grade (below 70 per cent). The observation homes were
judged for overall maintenance, cleanliness, staff and student interaction, attendance, food,
shelter, checks on those coming to meet children, overall grooming of children and teaching
and behavior.
Follow up by home staff
Though under the Act, the provision of follow up has been given to the probation officer. But
in most of the cases the children coming out of observation homes should to be followed up
by observation home staff. The home staff here consist of trainers, vocational teachers etc.
The follow-up activities include correctional behaviour, counseling to parents and children,
provision of rehabilitative services. The follow-up activities are not effectively implemented
in majority of the observation homes and therefore most of the inmates in the observation
homes are second time or repeated delinquents.
Sound, secure and safe observation home
In order to ensure safety, security and healthy atmosphere in these homes some other
measures can be adopted.
P a g e | 63
1. The NGO’s specifically taking care of children, should be asked to run non-formal
education classes in juvenile homes to provide classes in dance, aerobics, sports and
meditation to inmates as a means to curb incidents of violence in these homes. For better
welfare of juveniles, games, sports and other functional programmes may be organized in
observation home and institutions and the juveniles should be encouraged to participate in
these programmes. During festival seasons some cultural programmes should be organized in
the homes for the inmates with the assistance of voluntarily organizations.
2. The observation homes should be upgraded by installing CCTV cameras, perimeter

cordon and increasing the number of watchtowers. The video facility through CCTV should
be so linked to facilitate inspection and supervision by the Juvenile Justice Board so as to
keep a check on anything done against the best interest of the child. The Board should also
conduct surprise visits so as to prevent and address allegations of torture, abuse or neglect of
juveniles residing there.
3. Senior citizens should be involved as community resource person to look after the well
being of the children in various homes with their expertise in different fields.
4. Schooling of the children in the observation homes up to the age of 14 should be made
compulsory.
5. Juveniles not released on bail and placed in such places should be segregated from those
placed there as per final order of the Juvenile Justice Board, and in both these categories,
juveniles should be classified and segregated based on age, sex and degree of offence or
mental status.
6. For the welfare of juvenile, he must be allowed to go on leave and released on license
during examination so that he can continue with his studies. Sponsorships should be provided
for the education of juveniles in good institutions. Personality enhancement courses should
also be organized. Across the country, there are approximately 711 Juvenile Justice Homes
(observation, special remand and after-care homes) in 25 States and UTs, says a National
Commission for Protection of Child Rights report. In 2000, according to Ministry of Home
Affairs, there were 3,876 children in conflict with the law in juvenile homes. The number was
P a g e | 64
increased in 2011 to 33,387 children (in the age group of 7-18) who were arrested in the state
of Punjab alone.
Most of these children are a product of their environment that is, abusive or absentee parents,
wrong peer groups or simply no one to tell them any better. When they commit an offence
they are arrested and put under observation in observation homes to realize their mistakes
while pending their trial. Therefore, the every observation home should provide a temporary
stay to these juveniles with an idea to rehabilitate these children and put them back in the
society as stable, healthy and productive members.
5.3. FUTURE SCOPE
Rehabilitation and social reintegration of the child is the primary object which is discussed in
the earlier part of the paper i.e. adoption, foster care, sponsorship sending the child to an
after-care organization. The purpose is to restore dignity and self-confidence among the
children and bring them back to a normal family life. Every child in the country has a
legitimate claim and is entitled to its share in the finances of the Republic for harmonious and
comprehensive development of its personality. As a plant needs protection, nourishment and
proper environment to grow into a big fruit - bearing tree, a child also needs protection,
promotion, nourishment and proper environment to grow into a useful and responsible
citizen. Proper Health, Education and Environment for the children are the imperative needs
of the hour.Most of these children are a product of their environment that is, abusive or
absentee parents, wrong peer groups or simply no one to tell them any better. When they
commit an offence they are arrested and put under observation in observation homes to
realize their mistakes while pending their trial. Therefore, the every observation home should
provide a temporary stay to these juveniles with an idea to rehabilitate these children and put
them back in the society as stable, healthy and productive members.
REFERENCES
STATUTES
1. Juvenile justice care and protection act 2000.
BOOKS
P a g e | 65
1. Juvenile Justice: An Indian Scenario, Sunil Kanta Bhattacharyya

2. Children behind bars: Why the abuse of child imprisonment must end, Willow, Carolyne
3. The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Structuring Legal Reforms, Catherine Y. Kim, Daniel J.
Losen, Damon T. Hewitt
4. Prison Conditions in India, Author: Aryeh Neier, David J. Rothman
5. Human Rights and Incarceration: Critical Explorations, Elizabeth Stanley
6. Juvenile Justice: A Guide to Theory, Policy, and Practice, Steven M. Cox, Jennifer M.
Allen, Robert D. Hanser
7. Youth, Crime, and Justice, Cyndi Banks
8. Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Delinquency: A Comprehensive Framework, James C.
Howell
9. Juvenile Justice: The Essentials, Richard Lawrence, Mario Hesse
10. Rethinking Juvenile Justice, Elizabeth S Scott, Laurence D Steinberg
11. Juvenile Justice, Kären M. Hess, Christine H. Orthmann, John P. Wright
12. Juvenile Justice: An Introduction, John T. Whitehead, Steven P. Lab
13. Corrections: Exploring Crime, Punishment, and Justice in America, John T. Whitehead,
Kimberly D. Dodson, Bradley D. Edwards
14. International Handbook of Juvenile Justice, Scott H Decker, Nerea Marteache
15. Child Rights in India: Law, Policy, and Practice, Asha Bajpai
16. Girls Delinquency and Juvenile Justice, Meda Chesney Lind and Randal G Sheldan
17. Juvenile Justice System in India: From welfare to rights, Ved Kumari
18. Juvenile Justice in Global Perspective, Franklin E. Zimring, Maximo Langer, David S.
Tanenhaus
19. American Youth Violence, Franklin E. Zimring
20. Justice for Children, Allison Morris
ARTICLES
1. Current Issues In Juvenile Justice In India, Ved Kumari

2. Juvenile Justice Bill 2014 – A Regressive Step, Ved Kumari
3. 'Bad' Juveniles and The 'Worst' Juvenile Justice Law? The Second Challenge To Juvenile
Justice Law In "Darga Ram" V. "State of Rajasthan", B.B. Pande
P a g e | 66
4. State and Child Justice: Stories of Delinquent Juveniles, Yogesh Snehi

5. Juvenile Maturity and Heinous crimes, Gauri Pillai & Shrikrishna Upadhyay
6. Descriptive Analysis of five Juvenile Justice Systems: United States, Scotland, England,
India, and South Africa, Galan M Janeksela
7. Reforming the Juvenile Justice System: The Diversion of Status Offenders, Dean G.
Rojek and Maynard L. Erickson
8. Warehousing or Rehabilitation? Public Schooling in the Juvenile Justice System, Harriet
R. Morrison and Beverly D. Epps
9. Innocence Lost: Case Studies of Children in the Juvenile Justice System, Geraldine
Kearse Brookins and Julie A. Hirsch
10. Justice for 'Delinquents', Manu N Kulkarni
11. 'Why are kids fleeing from juvenile homes?', Times of India
12. Adolescents' cheating and delinquent behavior from a justice-psychological perspective:
the role of teacher justice, Matthias Donat, Claudia Dalbert and Shanmukh Vasant
Kamble
13. Juvenile Delinquency and Social Areas, Kenneth Polk
14. Life in India’s Juvenile Homes, Pamposh Raina
15. Juvenile shelter homes in India have become homes of horror for many, India.com
DATABASE
1. Westlaw
2. Jstor
3. Economic & political weekly
WEBSITES
1. https://pib.gov.in/newsite/printrelease.aspx?relid=134513
2. https://www.india.com/news/india/juvenile-shelter-homes-in-india-have-become-homes-
of-horror-for-many-1491516/
3. https://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/life-in-indias-juvenile-homes/
4. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/56062937.cms?
P a g e | 67

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Juveniles, Delinquent, Observation Home, Assault, Reformation.

as delays in adoption processes, high pendency of cases, accountability of institutions, etc.

1.1. Nature and Extent of Juvenile Delinquency in India

1.2.2. Separate new chapter on Adoption to streamline adoption of orphan, abandoned

1.2.3. Inclusion of new offences committed against children - Several new offences

1.2.4. Mandatory registration of Child Care Institutions - All child care institutions,

1.3. Children in Conflict with Law

1. Title- Juvenile Justice: An Indian Scenario: Introduction

Publishing year- 2015

3. Title - The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Structuring Legal Reform: Right to Education

Publisher- NYU Press

Publishing year- 2012

4. Title- Prison Conditions in India: Police detention

Author- Aryeh Neier, David J. Rothman

Publisher- Human Rights Watch

5. Title- Human Rights and Incarceration: Critical Explorations: Children deprived of

Author: Elizabeth Stanley

Publishing year: 2018

Publisher- Sage Publication

Publishing year- 2017

8. Title- Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Delinquency: A Comprehensive

Author- James C. Howell

Publishing year: 2009

The book Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Delinquency: A Comprehensive Framework

Author- Richard Lawrence, Mario Hesse

Author: Elizabeth S Scott, Laurence D Steinberg

Publisher- Harvard University Press

Publishing year: 2009

Author- Kären M. Hess, Christine H. Orthmann, John P. Wright

Publishing year- 2005

12. Title- Juvenile Justice: An Introduction: Explaining delinquency- Biological and

Author: John T. Whitehead, Steven P. Lab

Publishing year- 2015

Juvenile Justice: An Introduction, 8th presents a comprehensive picture of juvenile offending,

Author: John T. Whitehead, Kimberly D. Dodson, Bradley D. Edwards

14. Title: International Handbook of Juvenile Justice

15. Title- Child Rights in India: Law, Policy, and Practice: Introduction

Author- Meda Chesney Lind and Randal G Sheldan

Publisher- Wadsworth/Thomson Learning

Publishing year- 2004

Author- Ved Kumari

Publisher- Oxford University Press

Publishing year- 2010

Author- Franklin E. Zimring, Maximo Langer, David S. Tanenha

Publisher- NYU Press

Publishing year- 2017

19. Title- American Youth Violence: Amerucan Youth Violence- A Profile

Author- Allison Morris

Publisher- Cambridge University Press

Publishing year- 2018

Author- Ved Kumari

2. Title- Juvenile Justice Bill 2014 – A Regressive Step

Author- B.B. Pande

4. Title- State and Child Justice: Stories of Delinquent Juveniles

Author- Yogesh Snehi

5. Title- Juvenile Maturity and Heinous crimes

Author- Gauri Pillai & Shrikrishna Upadhyay

Journal- 10 NUJS L.Rev. 49 (2017)

6. Title- Descriptive Analysis of five Juvenile Justice Systems: United

Journal- International Review of Modern Sociology, Vol. 21, No. 1 (Spring

7. Title- Reforming the Juvenile Justice System: The Diversion of Status

Author- Dean G. Rojek and Maynard L. Erickson

8. Title-- Warehousing or Rehabilitation? Public Schooling in the Juvenile