WILLIAM CAREY UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

FACULTY SEMINAR

24 MAY 2013,

SHILLONG, MEGHALAYA.
PROTECTION, TREATMENT AND
REHABILITATION OF CHILDREN IN THE
JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN INDIA

Soma Bhowmick, PhD

Sociology,
Asst. Prof. and Research Coordinator

The paper is based on available literature and

Secondary Data.
Introduction is the first part that deals with the
conceptual premises of Juvenile Justice and attempts to
deal with the nomenclature of the terms related to it.
This section of the paper explains the concept of
Juvenile Justice.

The second part explains via an exhaustive TABLE the

systems and arrangements of Juvenile Justice as it exists
around the globe and in India.

The third part of the paper provides a brief history of the

laws related to Juvenile Justice in India and Protection
of Children, this part also analyses Juvenile Justice and
attempt is made to critique the Juvenile Justice System
and suggest improvements.

The fourth part is the conclusion. This part also includes

the bibliography.
 India is home to the
largest child population
in the world, with
almost 42 per cent
(Census 2010) of the
total population under
eighteen years of age.

Increasingly more and

more children are
falling prey to these
inadequacies and need
legal aid, referral
service and adequate
care, protection,
treatment and
rehabilitation.
DEFINING JUVENILE JUSTICE:

Juvenile Justice is the area of criminal law

applicable to persons not old enough to be held
responsible forcriminal acts. In most states, the
age for criminal culpability is set at 18 years.
DEFINING A JUVENILE:

According to International Law, a Child means

every human being below the age of 18 years.
The crimes committed by those under the age of
18, fall under the Juvenile Justice Act of 2000 (JJ
Act) which is applicable across India except
Jammu and Kashmir. JJ Act deals with two
categories of children:

Children In Need of Care and Protection.

Children In Conflict with Law.
 STREET CHILDREN
TRAFFICKED CHILDREN

MISSING CHILDREN

ABUSED CHILDREN

ORPHANED, ABANDONED, DESTITUTE

CHILDREN
CHILDREN ENGAGING IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE

CHILDREN AFFECTED BY CONFLICTS &

DISASTERS
CHILDREN FROM FAMILIES AT RISK

MENTALLY ILL CHILDREN

WORKING CHILDREN

DIFFERENTIALLY ABLED CHILDREN

HIV/AIDS AFFECTED & INFECTED CHILDREN

CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH LAW

DEFINING JUVENILE DELINQUENCY:

Crime committed by children and

adolescents under statutory age is called
juvenile delinquency. The age limit and also
the meaning of delinquency vary in most
countries, but it is always below 18 years.
It basically meansanti-social behavior.
 WHO IS A CHILD UNDER INDIAN LEGISLATIONS?

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000

defines juvenile or Child as a person who has not completed
eighteenth year of age.

Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.

Child means a person who has not completed the age of 14 years.

Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929: Child means a person who, if

a male, has not completed twenty one years of age, and if a female,
has not completed eighteen years of age.

Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956: Child means a person

who has not completed the age of sixteen years.

The POCSO Act 2012 defines a child as any person below the age of
18 years and provides protection to all children under the age of 18
years from sexual abuse.
JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM
AROUND THE GLOBE
In the world, there are three models that inspire
administration of juvenile justice:

The Welfare Model

The Justice Model or Control Model

Retributive Model
The Restorative Model
 Country Age of Criminal Responsibility

Canada 12 years

Lowest 6 years in North Carolina but for most States it is

The USA
7 years

The UK 10 years

Ireland 14 years

France 13 years

Brazil 12 years

The Netherlands 12 years

Germany 14 years

South Africa 10 years

India 7 years
 Country Age of Criminal Responsibility

Australia 10 years

Mexico 10 years

Japan 14 years

Pakistan 7 years

Sri Lanka 8 years

Maldives 10 years

Singapore 7 years

China 14 years

Israel 12 years

Saudi Arabia 12 years

JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN INDIA

Juvenile Justice in India is governed by the

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000. Ancient India though
governed by a number of laws hardly had
any law specially dealing with juvenile
delinquency.
The Apprentices Act was passed
in 1850 as the first juvenile
legislation to deal with children
in India.
The Indian Penal Code (IPC)

came 1860
Section 82 of the IPC grants

blanket immunity to a child below

seven years of age imbibing the
Principle of Doli Incapax.
The Reformatory School Act of

1876 .
In 1919 separate legislations dealing
with juvenile delinquency were
enacted in different provinces, the
first ones being in Madras, Bengal
and Bombay.
The Children Act, 1960
The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986
The Juvenile Justice (Care and

Protection of Children) Act, 2000

Protection of Children from Sexual

Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012

B-F-C (BUDGET FOR CHILDREN)
As much as 5.3 per cent of the Union Budget for
2012-13 is Budget for Children (BfC) with an
increase of 0.3 per cent since 2011-12.

Despite the recognition of protection of children

in the 11th Five Year Plan and reaffirmation in
the Working Group Report of the Ministry of
Women and Child Development for the 12th Plan,
there is an 18 per cent decline in allocation from
2011-12.
 The National Commission for the Protection of
Child Rights received an increase of only Rs 1
crore in budgetary allocation as compared to Rs
12 crore announced in 2012-13.

Again, there is no change in the allocations for the

Scheme for the Welfare of Working Children in
need of Care and Protection, which stays at Rs 10
crore, though the actual revised provision for
2012-13 was reduced to Rs 8.60 crore.

The Integrated Child Protection Scheme , which is

a flagship scheme under child protection, has
actually seen a drop in allocation from Rs 400
crore budgeted in 2012-13 to Rs 300 crore in
budget 2013-14.
CHILD FRIENDLY MECHANISMS :
BEIJING RULES 1985

(a) that the reaction to juvenile offenders should

always be in proportion to the circumstances of both
the offenders and the offence;

(b) that the placement of the juvenile in an institution

should be a disposition of last resort and for the
minimum necessity period;

(c) that detention pending trial should be used only

as a measure of last resort and for the shortest
possible period of time;

(d) that police officers dealing with juveniles should

be specially instructed and trained.
THE PREAMBLE OF THE JJ ACT
OF 2000
Seeks to amend the law relating
to juveniles by providing for
proper care, protection and
treatment by catering to their
development needs, and by
adopting a child-friendly
approach in the adjudication
and disposition of matters in
the best interest of children.
 PARADIGM SHIFT IN CHILD
PROTECTION
A NEEDS APPROACH A RIGHTS BASED APPROACH

WELFARE OF CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN

NON INSTITUTIONAL &

INSTITUTIONAL &
FAMILY BASED ALTERNATIVE
RESIDENTIAL CARE
PROGRAM
FOR CHILDREN
HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT
CUSTODIAL CARE IN THROUGH QUALITY CHILD
INSTITUTION CARE INSTITUTION

SEGREGATION & INCLUSION &

ISOLATION MAINSTREAMING IN SOCIETY

THE CHILD BEING A THE CHILD BEING A

BENEFICIARY & PARTICIPANT/PARTNER IN
RECEIPIENT OF OWN DEVELOPMENT &
SERVICES DECISIONS
 Some of the very evident loopholes
are as following:

Usage of the word may:

Age:

Offenders being teenagers:

Need for the Policy of Waiver:

Facilities being provided to the juvenile delinquents:

Closed nature of Juvenile Homes and Observation

Centers:
 Conditions in the Juvenile Homes and
Observation Centers:
Facilities provided:

Treatment of the juveniles:

Improvement of the Juvenile and Observation

Homes:
PROCEDURAL ISSUES:
Lack of proper allocation of funds:

Lack of guidelines regarding the minimum

requirements of officials to be associated with the
system:
 UN CRC, 1989
Right to Survival

Right to Protection

Right Participation, and

Right to Development
 JURISPRUDENTIAL ANALYSIS

Diversionary approach: to avoid criminal courts.

This has been considered to be the most important
approach.

Interventionist approach: emphasized the positive

good that new programs administered by child welfare
experts could achieve.
 The general quality of juvenile justice
remains coarse and arbitrary with little
regard for fairness and justness to the
juvenile concerned. In order to have
effective functioning of the juvenile
justice system, there must be close
coordination between police, magistracy
and social services. It is high time that we
start taking care of these juveniles and
stop them from treading the wrong path.
India today needs children who can grow
up to be responsible citizens of tomorrow.
THANK YOU