CHAPTER SIX
6.1. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
Children develop the nation's precious human resources. The future accomplishment
of the nation depends on upon how its children perform and execute. The great poet
Milton said, "Youth Shows the man as morning presentations the day". So it is the
devotion of the general masses to deal with every pre-adult with a point of view to
ensuring full advance of its personality. Children are the future controllers and light
bearers of the Society: they are the units of our understanding, social legacy,
conviction structures, and rationalities.
Children are genuinely future parts as sensational instructors, specialists, judges,
rulers, powers, coordinators, engineers, politicians on whom the entire society set up
(rests). Disastrously a broad number of children are obstructed from securing their
childhood and right to bearing and thereby they are subjected to exploitation, misuse,
and abuse.
6.1.1 Criminal Justice (Reformative or Punitive) and Juvenile
Juvenile Justice can be defined as a legal framework that establishes justice for
juvenile or adolescents under the Indian Legal System. This system not only provides
a special treatment to the adolescent but gives protection to the juvenile offending or
delinquency. Juvenile Delinquency denotes to the crime or wrong-doings done by an
individual under the age group of 18 years. Presently, there is an increase in the rate
of the juvenile crimes that has led to a nation-wide debatable topic on need of
correction in the age determination under the Juvenile Justice. Age determination is
an important aspect for determining the maturity level of the alleged juvenile.
Moreover, the increased rate of the crime occurrences have raised question on
whether the juveniles should be treated as adult criminals or not. The JJ act is the apt
reply to such question. As per the definition of the ‘child with conflict with law’, the
juvenile offenders under sub – section 13 of Section 2 of the Act should not be tried
as an adult by the law and should be sent to the Child Care Centre or any
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rehabilitation centre till the juvenile turns 21 years old after which he can be shifted to
prison.
Hence, it can be conclusive to say that the present juvenile act takes the age
determination factor into account while investigating that whether the trial of the
accused person should be considered under the purview of Juvenile Justice Act.
As per the JJ Act, the maximum punishment period that can be sentenced to the
juvenile offenders is three years, which is also valid for heinous crimes.. The
punishment increases to seven years or life imprisonment or death penalty, when the
offender is an adult individual. However, this Act focuses on the reformation of
juvenile instead of just punishing them. The punishments for the reformation of
juvenile involves sending them to the rehabilitation centers, juvenile schools, and
other vocational programs run under the government or NGO’s.
Nevertheless the author opined that, considering the present scenario strict
punishments should be formulated irrespective of the age factor. In case of a heinous
crime like rape, the offender cannot walk away on the basis of the age determination
factor.
The JJ Act is developing a different mindset in the juvenile offenders and other
adolescents. They are considering the present Age Determination provision under this
Act as an excuse from the punishment in the name of reformation. It is also leading to
create a negative effect on the social behavior of the present day youths.
This reformative law is providing a chance to the juveniles to take undue advantage of
it for committing crime without the fear of facing any harsh aftermath. Hence,
reformation proposal is goo but cannot be applicable in each and every juvenile
offender’s case. The author of this thesis also proposes that if the JJ Act is providing
reformative policies for the offenders then there should be some provisions for the
better ways of judgment for the victims. In other words, the reformative law of JJ Act
is only focused on the offenders and not formulated considering the victim’s point of
view.
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As per the juvenile law system in India, the court believes that the offenders should be
sent to the correction homes for reformation and rehabilitation instead of jail with the
tagline of ‘criminals’. However, no one can assure that they are not going to commit
or exhibit any kind of anti-social behaviors in future.
The author at this instance wants to focus the point that the present is more concerned
with the reformation rather than penalization. Penalization can be proved as a better
punishment compared to both reformation and imprisonment, thereby creating a self-
realization in the juveniles for the crime they have conducted. This may eventually
result in decreasing the rate of juvenile crimes.
6.1.2THE CURRENT SCENARIO OF THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM ININDIA
According to the Article 14 - of the Constitution of India, all citizens are equal in the
eyes of law, and thus have the right to equality irrespective of their gender, caste and
age. Hence, juveniles are the future generation on whom the future of the country
relies on. However, the rate of crime caused by juvenile is increasing day by day.
Juvenile term has originated from the Latin word ‘Juvenis’ meaning ‘young’.
Basically, the individuals under the age group of 18 years are termed as Juvenile.
They are the future of a country.
In India, the offenders under the age group of 18 years undergo the trials and
sentences under the Juvenile Justice Act 2015. There are still controversies related to
this law questioning its validity and credibility of imparting justice.
The Parliament of India passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)
Act, 2015 as an amendment to the previous JJ Act. It mainly intended to replace the
delinquency law of the Indian juveniles under the JJ Act 2000 and allowed the
juvenile offenders in the age group of 16-18 years to continue to live as adults in the
society.
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6.2 NEED OF IMPROVEMENT IN THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM OF THE
COUNTRY
Work of Juvenile Justice Board
• Section 4 of the JJ Act states that a special training program should be scheduled
for the JJ Board officers including the Principal Magistrate on the child
psychology and their welfare.
• The ambiance of the meeting or inquiry place held by the Board should be made
child friendly. Use of black coats and raised podiums by the lawyers should be
avoided during the meetings. The juvenile should not be made to stand in front of
the Board like an adult law offender. Instead, the juvenile should be made
comfortable by making her/him free from any fear or pressure. It would be nice if
the sittings are conducted in the observation homes only.
• The Board should be provided with the basic amenities like computer, typewriters,
steno, and other essential furniture for smooth functioning of the duties.
• The files and case records should be properly maintained.
• The children staying at the observation homes should be under the CCTV
surveillance of the Board to record in case any action if performed against the best
interest of the children.
• The Board should hire at least two social activists having minimum educational
qualification in Law.
• A list comprising the names of the experts in varied fields including
psychologists, counselors, clinical psychiatrists, NGOs, members of the panel of
the advocates, observation homes, special shelters, and other voluntary
organizations. The main intention of this list is to utilize their services, if required.
The probation officers presenting the juveniles in front of the Board should have
the in-depth idea about the new discoveries and intervention in the field of social
sciences and child psychology to present the juvenile offender’s case concerning
the societal factors.
• Both the juvenile and his/her parents should be given psychological counseling in
consultation with a psychiatrist. Hence, a psychologist along with a social worker
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having awareness about the relevant law should be recruited by the JJ Board in
order to implement this counseling part.
• The JJ Board may also seek co-operation from the NGOs and other social
organization along with the special juvenile police unit and probation officers.
These officers should be equipped with the required trainings on effective
preparation of the social investigation report that would be helpful to the JJ Board
members. Mostly, lady probation officers are appointed for the preparation of the
social investigation report.
• To work as the liaison officer between the NGOs and the JJ Board of child
welfare committee, a government welfare officer should be hired. In effort of
doing so, the state government welfare department should organize seminars and
sensitized orientation programs with all the probation and police officers, those
who are accountable to provide better justice to the children and juveniles.
6.2.1 Treatment of Juvenile
• The juvenile offenders should be presented in front of the JJ Board within the 24
hours of arrest.
• The juvenile offenders’ age on the date of the crime committed should also be
determined while presenting him/her before the Board. The detailed scientific
investigation report on the age factor is not essential if the relevant documents of
age-proof are present.
• The members of the JJ Board have to take extra care that the juvenile’s privacy
rights are not violated. They also have to monitor that the Section 21 of the JJ Act
is strictly implemented.
• Alike the adult offenders, the juveniles also have the same constitutional
safeguards. Hence, the juvenile statement should be recorded as per the instruction
in the Section 313 Cr PC. He/she also has the right to provide the relevant
evidence in support of his/her statement.
• If the juvenile fails to pay the fine or the security fee, then he/she cannot be sent to
jail irrespective of any type of case.
• Magistrates, who are not empowered to employ the powers of the JJ Board in
juvenile cases, are allowed to record the statement and then send both the juvenile
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and the statement directly to the JJ Board. The juvenile is, however, presented as a
new entity in front of the Board.
• The juvenile court judges should be given trainings in order to know about all the
needs of the children encountering the crisis. The needs may be in terms of
educational, social, or medical.
• Proper infrastructure and implementation of all the policies should be monitored
by both the concerned governmental and non-governmental agencies.
• In order to avoid such juvenile crimes, the adoption system of India should be
made stringent and in accordance with the country’s adoption law. Special
scrutinizing is required in case of religion-based adoption processes.
• The JJ Act is best applicable on juveniles when the document related to their age
determination, i.e. birth certificate is prepared from their birth time. Hence, the
full-fledged implementation of the registration of birth rule should be made
stringent.
6.2.2 Procedure of Inquiry
• As the JJ Board is bound to complete the juvenile investigation within 4
months, the principal magistrate of the Board should be assigned with any
other legal cases.
• In order to avoid the ambiguity in variations occurring in the JJ Act due to the
difference occurring in the rules from one state to another, the Board should
formulate some common rules to be implemented throughout India.
• The Board can order the juvenile offender to stay in the observation home in
exceptional cases only. The same can be monitored under CCTV surveillance
only if there are valid and strong reasons.
• The possibility of any sort of abuse, whether sexual or otherwise, should be
checked by conducting independent and private inquiries with the juvenile
offenders. If confirmed, then he/she should be sent to the governmental
medical organizations for complete physical check-ups
• The JJ Board members should also ensure that the police officer arresting any
juvenile should inform his/her guardians before conducting the arrest.
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• The members of the JJ Board should pass the final verdict in the proceeding
without having a look at the case report by the probation officer.
• The Board should monitor that the summary submission procedure is followed
during the investigation.
• The juvenile should not be interrogated whether he/she admits to the charges
or not.
• All members of the varied departments concerned with the child welfare, like
the District Judge, Welfare Officer, JJ Board members, superintendent of
observation should be called for a monthly based group meetings to discuss on
the issues related to children and juvenile welfare.
• Awareness programs should be conducted by the JJ Board through legal aid
campaigns on varied crimes occurring in their proximity so that they are
empowered to tackle such situation and forbid from committing any juvenile
crime in future.
• Complaints can be lodged by the Board on behalf of the juvenile against the
persons who are handed over with the control of the juvenile when they are
found to violate the JJ Act under the Sections of 21,23,25,26.
6.2.3 Rehabilitation/ Shelter Home/ Observation Home
• Shelter for juveniles should be arranged separately from the poor and destitute
individuals. Moreover, they should not be constructed like jails. Surprise visits
should be conducted by the Board members on special homes, juveniles, and
observation homes. The researcher here wishes to suggest that the senior
citizens or the people of the elderly homes can be included to nurture and look
after these children.
• The children in the special homes should be mandatorily sent to schools till
the age of 14. The juveniles should be provided with all the best and basic
facilities and other opportunities like Boarding schools. They should be
enrolled in moral science and civics classes. Furthermore, they should also be
allowed to go for vacation during their exams so that they can continue their
studies after they are released from the observation homes. They should also
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be enrolled into the personality development classes. Sponsorships should be
granted for the education of the juveniles in renowned institutions.
• Games, sports, and other physical programs should be organized for the
juveniles that are intended to develop a connection between the other kids in
the society and the juveniles. Moreover, the programs during festive occasions
can be organized for the children in the observation and correction homes so
that the connection between them and their cultural beliefs can be maintained
intact in them.
• The adoption system should be processed under the Section 41 can be used to
avoid conflicts.
• The researcher of this thesis proposes that the property right of the adopted kid
should be included in the adoption law under the JJ Act.
6.2.4 Police
• A special juvenile police unit should be established by the state governments
in every city and district. Each unit should be trained specifically in child
psychology and welfare. Moreover, the public prosecutors should also be
trained how to handle the sensitive matters in the juvenile cases with the help
of the probation and police officers.
• The arrested juvenile should hand over to the special juvenile police soon after
the arrest procedure is over.
• The juvenile trial or investigation should be completed within the limited time
period from the date of committing the crime, i.e. 60 days or 90 days in
accordance to the nature of the crime committed.
• The juvenile investigation should be conducted in the presence of a social
worker.
• The protection of the juveniles is ensured by the police department. Hence,
they should be made aware about all the provisions under the JJ Act for which
the awareness programs should conducted at the police stations under the
guidance of the Principal Magistrate, members of JJ Board and child welfare
committees as well as NGOs.
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6.3 Need of improvement in the Juvenile Justice Act Provisions
• With an intention to investigate and close the Juvenile cases within the
stipulated time period, the Apex Court should take the required measures to
create and establish special JJ Boards.
• The JJ Board should be operational with case proceedings on Juvenile cases
should be held on every working day.
• Under the JJ Act, the Board should be empowered to lodge the complaints of
the children offenders instead of doing the same at police station as they may
get scared while giving the statement.
• The gender-biased discrimination in trial processes is not applicable in the
Juvenile Justice Act 2015. However, the fact that the girl child can be more
vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in a more comfortable or convenient
manner should be taken into consideration under this JJ Act 2015. Hence, the
female child should be provided with extra care and special needs during her
stay in the observation homes or safe houses. Moreover, this JJ Act should
provide an inbuilt safety mechanism for female juveniles.
• The JJ Act 2015 should allow using 25% of the fine collected by the criminal
courts with an intention to provide the best facilities to the fund for the welfare
and rehabilitation of the child offenders or juveniles. This should be monitored
by the JJ Board.
• The Section 16 (1) of the JJ Act states about ‘life imprisonment’, which should
be substituted with term ‘any-form of imprisonment’ in agreement with the
legislative intent of the Section 16 (2) of the JJ Act.
• There is nothing mentioned in this Act regarding the bail possibility of a
juvenile involved in the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities (TADA)/
Prevention of Terrorism (POTA)/ Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances (NDPS) Act. Hence, it should be included in this Act to avoid any
form of confusion and delay in above type of cases in terms of Juveniles.
• On the other hand, the JJ Act 2015 has also remained silent in providing
justice to the victims in the child offences, which demands for immediate
inclusion of new provisions or amendments in the Act.
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• In order to avoid any form of confusion in the JJ Act, the term ‘Protective
Custody’ should be explained in a clear and elaborative manner.
• Section 14 of the JJ Act creates confusion during the investigation, which calls
for a clarification in beforehand.
• Provisions should be made to enroll the juveniles into the voluntary social
organizations under the supervision and assistance of the government so that
the juveniles are skilled and talented enough to secure good jobs after their
release from the observation homes.
• It is important for the Board members to work with honesty and devoid of any
kind of fear and personal favor to others so that the justice is done impartially
and honestly.
• The juvenile should be encouraged more to participate in the community
programs, which should be organized under the close supervision of the
probation officer or social workers along with the case in charge officers. The
main intention is check the fulfillment of the obligation between the children
and the person whose are assigned with the responsibility to look after them.
• The people of the NGO organization should be more concerned in
rehabilitating the juveniles so that better family replacement can be provided
to the children without families and relatives.
• As per the recommendation in the Indian Jail Committee 1919-20, the SOS
children’s villages should be implemented for the suitable placement of the
children in varied community services for education, vocational training, and
recreations. The main intention is to provide similar standard of education and
training programs to the institutionalized children like those provided to the
normal children of the society.
• Under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act 2005, the National
Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was established in the
month of March in 2007. The CPCR Act 2005 was passed by the Parliament
in December 2005 with an intention to ensure that all the laws, policies,
programs, and administrative mechanisms as per the Child Rights viewpoint.
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• A transparent relationship should be established between the JJ Act and other
legislations that directly or indirectly affect the life of the children under this
Act.
• Just renaming the existing laws or policies is not going to benefit the children
under this Act. Rather evolving alternative new ways to deal with the juvenile
can be fruitful. Hence, new projects should be started on experimental
purpose. If beneficial, then they can be enforced as a new law under the Act.
• The community based and probationary programs should not only be cost-
effective but also be potential enough to take better care and rehabilitation of
the juveniles.
6.4 MEASURES TO MAKE JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE & PROTECTION
OF CHILDREN) ACT 2015 MORE EFFECTIVE
Nearly 30 million children in India are residing in families under extreme poor and
distressful conditions. Reports related to issues like violence against girl child, child
labor, street children, and violence against school students, etc. are increasing with
each passing day. The need of specific norms to tackle such issues originates for those
situations only. However, the JJ policy in India is controlled by the constitutional
provisions under the Article 15 that assures that special attention is provided to the
juveniles or child offenders along with safeguarding their rights. Articles 14, 15, 16,
17, 21, 23, and 24 define the basic rights in the name of Right to Equality, Protection
of life and personal liberty, and the right against exploitation. Hence, it can be said
that the Constitution of India is well aware about the societal condition of the children
and the reason behind the need of protection to them.
FLAWED APPROACH
The JJ System is a part of the Criminal System in the Indian Constitution. Hence, the
approaches made in the direction of dealing the juvenile crimes are always associated
with the stress between the protective approach of the JJ system and the conventional
ways of handling the criminal cases.
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Hence, Supreme Court Judge Madan B Lokur said that the JJ Act, 2015 is
complicated and thus requires thorough discussion in this regard.
According to Justice Lokur “Sentencing is a very complicated affair in the adult
criminal justice system in deciding whether a person has to be sentenced to death or
given life imprisonment or the quantum of years as punishment. It has been made
more complicated under the new Juvenile Justice Act. As also stated by Justice Lokur
the provision of assessment of whether a child should be tried as an adult. It is
necessary to be discussed thoroughly and threadbare since it will have long-term
implications.”
“If we put a child who does not deserve to be sent to the adult criminal justice system,
he will be in great trouble,” he said.
In order to highlight the issues related to the rehabilitation and restoration of
juveniles, a discussion event was organized by the JJ committee of the Supreme Court
and the Bombay High Court. Some of the other attendees were from Maharastra
Ministry for Women and Child Development and UNICEF. The latest amendment
done in the JJ Act last year replaced the previous law related to the provision of
mandatory trial of an offender under the age group of 18 under this Act. However, the
amended law states that if a minor under 18 and above 16 years committing heinous
crimes should be assessed for his/her mental conditions and physical abilities. This
amendment enables the Board to decide whether the juvenile will be sentenced with
the reassessment after turning 21 or be sent to the observation home for reformation
or monitoring. The reassessment after 21 years age may lead to imprisonment; hence
it should be conducted under the guidance of the experience psychologist or social
worker. Many activists have raised complaints about the issues created due to the lack
of such experts at the rural levels.
Justice Lokur has also said- “The previous Act had been passed in 2000 and had been
in force for 15 years. The new Act has raised a few issues, which need to be identified
and discussed. Many issues will further come up in the course of its implementation,
like it would for any new Act.”
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Although the Act was passed in the latest session of the Parliament, the rule book is
yet to be formulated and may take around three-four months for its completion.
Numerous suggestions by the representatives from the women and child development
ministry will be also added to the rules.
An assessment report was made in terms of the progress in the issues related to the
rehabilitation of the juveniles since the first regional consultation that was conducted
last year in Delhi. Maharashtra successfully established the child welfare committees
and JJ Boards in each of its district. It has to yet conduct child-friendly proceeding,
renovation of infrastructure, and reduction in the pending case counts of Juveniles.
As the JJ Act has not perceived the issues of child exploitation and the delinquencies,
the laws herein are not wholly beneficial in solving the problems of the children.
Moreover, the imbalances and irritants observed in certain states also affect the
uniformity in the Act in the national level. The Act has allowed establishing
organizations for custodial investigations, adjudication as well as trial and proper
treatment of juveniles. But, the negligence in doing the same can act as a major
setback in the effective functioning of the Act. The lack of proper on-field teaching
classes and training to the official at the root-level and the financial crunches in the
rural level institutions can result in the ineffectiveness in the amended laws.
6.4.1 Model rules for implementation of Juvenile Justice Act:
Smt. Maneka Gandhi, the Women and Child Development Minister, released the draft
rules for the development in terms of the needs of the children and child-friendly case
proceedings. These rules of JJ Act 2015 can be used in cases like Mercedes hit-and-
run case that claimed life of a marketing executive of a renowned organization in the
month of April in Delhi.
These draft rules are sent to the NGOs, individuals of the society, state/union territory
government administrations, and ministries for their valuable suggestion and
comments. These rules are basically prepared considering the psychology of the
juveniles requiring reformation.
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“The states’ governments, may, if they wish, adopt or adapt these rules as per their
requirements,” a senior ministry official said. A multi-disciplinary committee,
including senior judges, advocates, JJB and child welfare committee members, state
governmental officials, mental health experts, and societal institutions representing
the people living in the society, framed the draft rules of JJ Act 2015. It became
effective in the month of 15th January, 2016 after an uproar in the public due to the
increase crime rate by the children below 18 years.
6.4.2 Bottlenecks
• Parameters like parental responsibility, family backgrounds, and other situational
conditions led to the rise of juvenile offences. At times the parents themselves
knowingly or unknowingly create certain situations leading to exploitations and
abuse.
• As per the provision under this Act, the basic amenities for education, trainings,
and reformations are not provided yet.
• There is no provision for procedural assurances like right to counsel and speedy
trial.
• The orders and directions passed by the Supreme Court are not mandatorily
followed in this Act.
• Although the Child Welfare Committee is authorized to deal with the child
adoption cases, the JJ Board is empowered under the Act to take this decision.
There is nothing mentioned about the inter-country adoption cases. The JJ Act
2015 is not related to the other legal provision for issues like child labor, primary
education, sexual abuse, disabilities, and health.
• The law is silent is terms of reaching to the children those who are in need of
special care and protection that can prevent them from becoming a potential
juvenile offender.
Understaffed and Overcrowded, Juvenile Homes Are Hell Holes Rather Than Reform
Centers –
According to the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, individuals below the age of 18 who
have come in contact with the justice system as a result of committing a crime or
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being suspected of committing a crime are referred to as “children in conflict with
law”. Children in conflict with law are placed in institutionalized care by the Juvenile
Justice Board and the goal is to reform them and rehabilitate them back into the
society.
Most government agencies in India act as special homes and observation homes.
Thus, in many places, children in conflict with law and children under care and
protection are housed within the same quarters even though the law states otherwise.
According to Sameer Shaikh, a senior social worker, “There is a need to keep these
two groups separate, and further categorize children into sub-groups according to their
age.”
Mixing these two groups leads to a number of issues. For starters, staff-members look
at children in conflict with law with a lot of contempt, and adopt a more sympathetic
outlook when addressing children under need of care and protection. This differential
treatment obviously angers the juveniles in conflict with law, and they take it out on
the children who have been placed in the special home under care and protection.
Thus, the very purpose behind placing the children in the home gets beaten!
Most special homes in India are characterized by crumbling infrastructure. These
places display dilapidated standards of hygiene. Basic facilities such as bathroom and
cleaning facilities are abysmal. The food and clothing provided are sub-standard.
How can reformation take place when basic needs of the child are not being met?
In most special homes or observation homes, around 12 to 20 children share a room.
The rooms are usually small and feel crammed due to overcrowding. There is no
privacy, and as the spaces are cramped, levels of irritation and annoyance are high,
because someone or the other is always around to create a certain level of disturbance.
Overcrowding often leads to violent fights over trivial issues.
Special homes in India need an immediate makeover. Counseling must be made
mandatory. The staff needs to be regularly trained because, many a times, they are
overworked and suffer from stress. There is also the issue of misappropriation of
funds. Thus, regular inspection and monitoring must be done. The whole objective of
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the juvenile justice system is to ensure children get access to a better quality of life,
education, and are integrated successfully into society. Unless proper steps focused on
enhancing education programmes, counseling and therapeutic interventions, health
and hygiene, vocational training, extra-curricular activities are taken, this vision will
not become a reality. Thus, there is a need to critically reflect on our actions and
think: is our system actually pushing children into becoming that very version of
themselves which we don’t want them to be?
The scarcity of infrastructure and trained staff has weakened the main objective of the
legislation in the regard. As the Child Welfare Committees and JJ Board are not
operational in a full-fledged manner, numerous cases have been piled up delaying the
justice to the victims and innocent accused persons. The lack in proper enforcement of
these laws has resulted in the increase in the juvenile crime rates.
The way the police official handle the juvenile cases are also one of the reason
behind the increase in the crime rate in the juveniles. The police department to some
extent has shown a sign of ignorance to the procedures mentioned in the Act while
handling the juveniles. The main idea of this Act is to reform and reintegrate the child
offenders with their parents and relatives. Hence, it requires a full-fledged network
system of rehabilitation and post-offence care service. However, the present scenario
of the JJ Act is devoid of any preventive approaches. The juvenile crime rates are
escalating but the measure to curb them are not even formulated.
6.4.3. Looking Ahead –
The Supreme Court has passed the judgment that if a law is enacted by the state
government, then the state administration should be ready and equipped to implement
it. Nevertheless, it leads to nothing apart from putting extra pressure and frustration
on the whole system. In my considered opinion, the amendment was necessary in
view of increased incidents of offences against women and girls (children?). The
amendment will go a long way in acting as deterrence for the adolescent offenders.
The session’s judge who is empowered to try these offences must be sensitized in
these aspects of the matter.
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IN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE:
Measures for Efficient Juvenile Realignment-
▪ To develop a better funding approach that intensifies innovation and efficiency.
▪ To develop a better plan for ensuring the smooth transition.
▪ To provide continuous technical support and over-sightedness to the state
administration
▪ To provide proper dwelling facilities to the juveniles who are sentenced by the
state to be sent to the observation home till they turn 18 years old.
▪ To take adequate steps in order to decrease the trial of juvenile offences in adult
court.
· In order to have the full control of delinquencies, the effective implementation of JJ
Act is essential with the full monitoring of the public as well as orientation with the
professionals and the law enforcement institutions. UN approved rules and its
effective application for the Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, 1990.
·There is a need to discuss on the legal provisions for juveniles and whether they are
any need for amendments.
· The needs and requirements of the juveniles should be reviewed on regular basis.
· The probation or police officers dealing with the Juvenile cases should be of
reformative ideologies rather than merely penal, i.e. to punish the culprit.
· The present JJ System still focuses on rehabilitation instead of punishing the culprit.
The JJ System takes extra care that the proceedings are conducted within the Board
members and the parents of the child. Their case reports and records are kept at
confidential places, which never happen in the adult courts.
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