JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM: A COMPONENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN INDIA (By- Pancham Preet Kaur)
JUVENILE
JUSTICE SYSTEM: A COMPONENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN INDIA
Authored By- Pancham Preet Kaur (Research Scholar)
Department Of Law, Punjabi University
“Youth shows the man as
morning shows the day.”
John Milton[1]
Introduction
Today’s children are the youngsters
of tomorrow. They are the most important determinants of growth and development
for any country. We can easily predict that the future of a country is
certainly at peril if the children there are getting involved in horrendous
crimes. A juvenile is referred to a person who has not completed 18 years of
age. Presently juvenile crimes are increasing day by day. Juveniles are
considered of light age and tender in nature and they can be rehabilitated if
given a chance, hence certain sections of The Indian Penal Code[2]
and The Criminal Procedure Code[3] do
not apply on them. If we go back in the history, the juvenile justice system in
India originated during the British rule. Before the British regime in India, juveniles
were treated by the family and society in general. As such,the juvenile justice
system and correctional measure was the direct consequence of western
philosophy and development of social reforms. The traces are available to show
that delinquents have been committing crimes since the days of Vedas but
problem of juvenile was not considered as a separate system and such cases fell
within the purview of ordinary law. It is the duty of the State to provide
equal opportunities for the development of the children for ensuring social
justice.[4]
A child is considered to be an
important part of the society where he takes birth, grows, lives and dies.
Juvenile delinquency is a behavioral aspect. The behavioral pattern develops in
early
childhood. The biological,
psychological and sociological factors are important for making behavioral
pattern of the child.[5]
Therefore, it depends upon the constitution of the temperament and attitude of
the juvenile to what extent he or she becomes delinquent.
Meaning And Concept
When it comes to the concept of juvenile
justice system, it is referred to as a system which deals with children in
conflict with law which includes child
related proceedings and programs or services for prevention, diversion,
rehabilitation, reintegration and aftercare so that normal growth of the delinquent
is not adversely affected. The system for the juveniles is required to be
different from the ordinary judicial system relating to crime.[6]
A child being innocent is completely
unaware of the actions it performs. And the most disappointing part is that the
children in the present scenario are being used as a tool for commission of the
crime as they can be easily manipulated at this stage.[7] And this is the reason why the child is
exempted from both civil as well as criminal liability.[8]
When we talk about juvenile justice
system in India, it occurs to us that it must be relating to the children who
are not adults, who are adolescents or minors and they are not aware of the
good and bad. They commit a crime without thinking about the consequences it
may lead to. It may just mean to them as playing a trick or playing nuisance
with someone as if they would go scot-free after committing that particular
act. However, in reality juvenile justice system is a system of legislations, policies
and procedures which are made with an intention to regulate the processing and
treatment of non-adult offenders for violation of law and to provide legal
remedies. A juvenile can do anything of his own choice or at the instance of
anybody else including murder, robbery, theft, physical assault, abuse,etc. and
still try to take the escape route by pleading that he is a juvenile.[9]
So, here there is a contradictory
position where one law talks about that he is an offender who should be
punished according to the ordinary law; but on the other hand the other law
called as the juvenile justice system which says that he is a protected
criminal and should be let off by following measures such as rehabilitation and
reformation.
Definition Of Juvenile
The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986
defined “child” as a person who in case of a boy has not completed 16 years and
in case of a girl who has not completed 18 years. But, later on India repealed
this Act and it was replaced by The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000 where the distinction between the age of a boy and girl was
done away with and the age for a juvenile was fixed to be not more than 18
years at the date of the commission of the offence. However, it was again
amended in the Act of 2015 that if the concerned child is between 16 to 18
years and his age is in conflict with the law of the land, he will be
considered as an adult for committing heinous offences and also be punished
accordingly.
According to The Juvenile (Care and
Protection) Act, 2015 a “child”[10]
means a person who has not completed 18 years yet. The Act has classified the
term “child” into two categories which are“child in conflict with law” [11]
and “child in need of care and protection.”[12]
Historical Background
Juvenile delinquency is not a recent
phenomenon in India or elsewhere because crime by the adolescents has been a
regular feature in all the ages such as modern, medieval and ancient. Children
have been committing serious offences even during the periods of Mahabharata
and Ramayana. However, there have been different ways for the treatmentof
juvenile offences and there was no single common criteria or procedure for
punishing the offenders.
There is a Latin maxim which suits
best for the Juvenile Justice System is “nil novi spectrum” which means that
nothing is new on this earth. A presumption has existed since the ancient time
that the juveniles should be dealt with leniency because young children
generally respond in a frustrated and aggressive way.[13]
International Perspective
Juvenile Justice System in UK
In England, the juvenile courts were
set up for the first time in 1908 under The Children Act, 1908. The main
purpose was to provide care and protection to the young offenders and to
provide reformation by way of education and training to the offenders.
Thereafter, The Children and Young
Offenders Act, 1933 was passed in
England which provided civil powers to the juvenile courts in special cases.
The Act also provided that any young person[14]
or child[15] who has
committed the crime should be tried only in the juvenile courts. There was a provision
of remand homes for such offenders. Another Act passed in UK was The Criminal
Justice Act, 1948 to deal with the rights of the offenders providing certain
types of security to the young offenders by sending them to remand homes.[16]
Juvenile Justice System in USA
America followed the same system for
juveniles as that in UK but in USA the procedure was not much complex. The
courts of America used to follow informal manner in handling such cases. At the
first stage, the police officer concerned was supposed to use his complete
discretion to keep the juvenile under the custody or to release him immediately
or warn him. In the second stage, the concerned police officer referred the
offender to juvenile courts. Then these offenders were sent to certified schools
or children homes as per the orders of the court. As per the procedure followed
in USA, a juvenile is treated as an adult if the age of the juvenile was near
to 18 years.[17]
International Conventions and Instruments
The International conventions and instruments
have contributed significantly in relation to the provisions of child rights
and prevention of child abuse.[18]
The International organizations such as United Nations and UNICEF have always
stressed more upon the development of child.
The International conventions and
instruments which are signed by the member states of UN in order to protect the
rights of Children are as following:
·
UN
Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing
Rules)
·
UN
Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh Guidelines)
·
UN
Rules for the Protection of Juvenile Deprived of their Liberty (Havana
Conventions)
·
Guidelines
for the Action on Children in Criminal Juvenile System (Vienna Guidelines)
·
The
Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of
inter-country Adoption, 1993
These conventions and instruments are
also relevant in respect of care and protection of children who are juveniles
and become offenders after the commission of crime which attracts some kind of
punishment.[19]
National Perspective
In India, Juvenile Justice System
started around the 18th century and before that juvenile offenders
were treated like ordinary criminal offenders. Due to this reason, the UNO had
adopted Convention on Rights of the Child on 20th November, 1989.[20]
This Convention provided that in order to protect the social reintegration of the
juvenile, there shall be no judicial proceedings and trials in the court. It
also permitted India to repeal the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 and to make a new
legislation. As such, the new Act known as “The Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Act, 2000 was passed. It may be mentioned here that
Children Act, 1960 was replaced by The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986. Thereafter,
Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 was passed which was amended first in 2006 and then
in 2011.[21]
The aim of Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Act, 2014 was to substitute the Indian juvenile
delinquency law and it was passed on 7thMay 2015 by the LokSabha. It
provided for a juvenile justice board consisting of psychologists and
sociologists to determine the age of juvenile criminal.[22]
Further, it was replaced by the
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015. It has following features:
(i)
There
should be no trial of young offenders in the courts but they should be
corrected in best possible manner.
(ii)
Young
offenders should not be given punishments by the courts but they should be
given a chance to reform themselves.
(iii)
Trial
for child in conflict with law[23]
should be based on non-penal treatment through social control agencies e.g.
Observation Homes[24]
and Special Homes.[25]
Various provincial governments had
also passed State relevant Acts such as Madras Children Act, 1920; Bengal
Children Act, 1922; Bombay Children Act, 1924; Similarly, notwithstanding the
Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection) Act, 2000 also guaranteed that regardless of religion, the young
children needing consideration were given the benefits of a different legal
process, be it Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000 , Hindu and
Muslim individual laws likewise represent youngsters in India.[26]
India was the main nation to adopt
the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules, 1985 for the organization of the
juvenile justice legal framework in the light of standards prescribed in the
rules.[27]
Causes Of Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is one of the
serious problems involving almost all the societies of the world including
India. Children are vulnerable groups in the population requiring utmost care
and protection and there are great chances that they might not be treated well
and their energy may be diverted to various undesirable channels by the
unscrupulous persons. It is natural for them to indulge in deviant behavior. It
may vary from country to country and place to place. In India, vandalism,
theft, street hocking, black marketing and others are treated as juvenile
crimes. India has world’s largest number of children who are vulnerable to
committing crimes. There is a trend of increase in juvenile crimes in India
which is a matter of serious concern and this problem needs to be sorted
immediately.[28] The
present Indian society is undergoing tremendous change in terms of beliefs,
thoughts and ideologies. What people used to consider as immoral yesterday may
not consider the same today because of the changes taking place in the belief
system of the society. The facilities and comforts of life have advanced the
aspirations of people to get more and more. We have totally ignored the virtue
of self-introspection and self-realization. Children are most adversely
affected part of the society in the modern world who are exposed to the bitter
realities of life at a very young age. All these reasons have contributed to
the increase in the rate of juvenile delinquency in India.[29]
Juvenile delinquency occurs at
different places due to different reasons, behaviors and situations which
emerge at that juncture of time. Unfortunately, large number of children are
seen these days committing various types of dangerous and ghastly offences
including rape, murder, robbery, theft, etc. which are ample proof of increase
in juvenile delinquency which may be due to interplay of
individual, biological, genetic and
environmental factors as under.
Environmental and Societal Causes
Children are also human beings who
live in the society and communicate with others and they influence others by
their behavior or interaction. In this process they may indulge in anti-social
or indecent behavior with anybody. They may come into physical, emotional, spiritual
or cultural conflict and show anger, become hostile and aggressive which may
lead to dangerous fights and attacks on each other resulting in death .
Children also copy others in their behavior and habits but they become adaptive
only of harmful habits.
Biological Causes
The personality of a man is formed on
the basis of hereditary and environment. The environment aspect has been
discussed above but heredity factor is very important in the composition of the
physique and nature of a child because it will be on the pattern of his
ancestors. If father was a musician, painter or specialist in any field, his
son will follow his footprints. It is the genetic system of the body. In
adolescence, there are various changes in the body of the child according to
hormonal patterns of the father. He will also develop certain habits like that
of eating, talking, walking etc. So, this feature of delinquency also transfers
from one generation to the other.[30]
Peer Groups
Many a times a juvenile becomes
delinquent as a result of demonstration effects of his friends, colleagues,
classmates or close relatives. Being in a bad company or good company of
friends or colleagues leads to the same type of impact on the behavior and
attitude of a child. If the friend is a thief, naughty person or a drunkard then
his friend will also become like him.
Emotional Causes
There can be bad effects of emotional
imbalance, jealously, inferiority or insecurity shown by one person to the
other. Face is the index of mind. If you appear before anybody in an angry or a
sad mood, the other person will also try to be so with you sooner or later.
Therefore showing extra ordinary composure or exposure leads to juvenile
delinquency on the part of the child.
Financial Causes
Many children become habitual of pick
pocketing, stealing money, indulge in theft of utensils, books or other
valuable things from the houses of others for the want of shortage of money.
They are not able to make their both ends meet as they have no sufficient
income. They see their parents quarreling with each other and they also do not
want to beg money from others. So for this reason they indulge into
delinquency.
Social Media Causes
Media is a vehicle through which
young boys and girls follow doing acts of violence like bullying, harassment,
gang related crimes against their friends, family members and relatives. Most
of the children commit such crimes on the pattern shown by social media through
internet. Many of such children indulge in gambling.[31]
Migration Causes
In several cases it happens with
people that they have to shift from the old place of living and settle at a new
place. The migration of such juveniles to slum areas or low level areas help in
indulgingin unlawful activities such as prostitution, smuggling of drugs, using
of drugs or narcotics. They create their own gang of juveniles and commit such
anti-social activities which spoil their lives and careers.
Kinds Of Juvenile Crimes
Whenever a child becomes delinquent
nobody can estimate as to what level or extent he would be committing the crime
or acts of delinquency. In fact, he becomes a rogue or a person with a bad
reputation in the eyes of society and he himself starts feeling downgraded in
front of others including his family members.
The following are some of the types
of crimes he is likely to commit.
(i)
He
can commit any crime which causes violence resulting into physical injury such
as attack with a weapon, rape or murder.
(ii)
A
juvenile delinquent may make use of force or threat to snatch the property of
any other person with which he has no legal right.
(iii)
He
can indulge in illegal sale, possession or trade of drugs.
(iv)
He
also can become a drug abuser by consuming unspecified quantity of drugs,
alcohol, opium etc.
(v)
He
can induce other children into the use of drugs thereby making them prone to
drug addiction.
(vi)
While
under the influence of drug addiction, he can cause traffic violation while
driving a vehicle. He can also cause a major accident leading to loss of life.
(vii)
Juvenile
delinquents become abnormal people and they are never in their proper senses.[32]
Evolution Of Juvenile Justice System In India
1)
Pre-
Independence Period
·
The Apprentices Act, 1850- It was the
foremost legislation which dealt with children in conflict with law. It
provided for the children between the ages of 10-18 convicted in courts to be
given vocational training as part of their rehabilitation process.[33]
·
Reformatory School Act, 1876 and 1897- Another landmark legislation for the treatment of juvenile
delinquents was the Reformatory School Act, 1876 and 1897. Under this Act the
court was at an option of detaining the delinquents in a reformatory school for
a period of two to seven days, but once they attained the age of 18 years, the
court cannot detain them in such institutions any further.[34]
·
The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898- It granted special treatment for the juvenile offenders. The
Code also provided probation for good conduct to offenders up to the age of 21
years.[35]
2)
Post- Independence Period
There are a number of articles which provide for the needs of children
as mentioned below, the Constitution of India has outlined various developments
in the field of juvenile justice.
Part
III and Part IV which deal with Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of
the State Policy respectively contain some special provisions with respect to
children.[36]
Article 15 (3): The
article permits the State to make special provisions for children and women.
Article 23: The
article deals with the prohibition of trafficking in human beings and forced
labour.
Article 24:The
Constitution under this article forbids the employment of children below the
age of 14 years in factories, mines and other hazardous occupations
Article 39 (e):The
State is directed to safeguard the tender age of children from entering into
jobs unsuited to their age.
Article 39 (f):It provides
that the State to secure facilities for the healthy development of children and
to protect childhood and youth against exploitation and moral and material
abandonment.
- The Children Act, 1960
The
Act was operated all over the country, however the States were allowed to enact
their personal legal guidelines for the care and safety of juveniles. Hence,
the provincial governments in individuality selected to enact separate law for
the juveniles in their respective jurisdictions. The Act was taken into
consideration as a model piece of regulation. This Act supplied for the care,
protection, preservation, welfare, schooling, training and rehabilitation of
ignored or delinquent children.[37]
·
The
Juvenile Justice Act, 1986
Prior
to this Act, every State government had their own legislations for children.
However, these Acts lacked consistency in terms of defining delinquency, court
procedures and institutionalised practices. Therefore,a need for a uniform Act arose
which should provide justice for children. As a result, a uniform Act was
passed by the Central Government i.e. The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986. The Act
aimed to provide care, protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation
for neglected and delinquent juveniles.[38]
The
Act of 1986 failed to fulfil the objectives and goals of ensuring special care
and safety to the juvenile delinquents at certain levels. Subsequently in
consonance with the worldwide developments, the Indian Parliament enacted The
Juvenile Justice(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.[39]
- Juvenile Justice (Care
and Protection) Act, 2000
The Government of India enacted the Juvenile Justice Act in 1986. In
1989, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the
Rights of a Child. India ratified the UNCRC
in 1992. The convention outlines the rights of the child to
reintegration into society without judicial proceedings where avoidable. Hence,
the government felt a need to fulfil the requirements of the convention to
re-write the law. So, in 2000 the earlier law was replaced by The Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
This new law being more child-pleasant provided for correct care and
protection as also for rehabilitation of youngsters in need of care and safety.
Under this Act, a clear difference has been made between a juvenile offender and
the disregarded child. In addition the Act also allows the adoption of a child
by any community. Thus, the Act provides about the government’s
responsibilities for the care, protection and the development of the overlooked
youngsters, but in addition it also tackles the issues relating to crime
prevention and the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents.[40]
·
The
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
The
Ministry of Women and Child Development had brought the Juvenile Justice (Care
and Protection of Children) Bill 2014 in the LokSabha on 12th August 2014. It
sought to make more strong, operative and answerable law for the children in
want of care and protection as well as the children in conflict with law. The
provisions of the Actwere in response to the observations which were articulated
by the way of a wide pass-section of society for the need to have an efficient machinery
of administration for the protection of juveniles.
Further,
the Bill was referred to the Parliament Standing Committee.[41]
On 25th February, 2015 several recommendations were made by the
Committee to strengthen the Bill. Accordingly, an amendment to the bill was
proposed by the Women and Child Development Ministry on the basis of the
recommendations of the Committee. One of the main purpose for bringing a new
legislation was the increasing number of crimes by juveniles of age group of
16-18 years.[42]
The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 defines the juvenile as a boy who has not
attained the age of sixteen years or a girl who has not attained the age of
eighteen years.[43]
Whereas, the Act of 2000 defined the term juvenile or child as a person who has
not attained the age of eighteen years.[44]In relation to the present
Act on juveniles i.e., the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)
Act, 2015 a
“child” means a person who has not completed eighteen years of age.[45] The
Act classifies the term “child” into two categories: –
(i)
child in conflict with law[46], and
(ii)
child in need of care and
protection[47].
This Act protects not only the rights of children, but also a person's
rights when he/she was a child.
Some The Important Features Of The Act Are:
Juvenile Justice Board
There shall be a Board for the purpose of inquiry and hearing in the
matters of juvenile in conflict with law.[48]
The Board shall consist of Principal Magistrate and two social workers, among
whom one should be a women.[49] The Act provides that under
no circumstances the Board can regulate and operate from regular court
premises. The decision taken by the Principal Magistrate shall be final.[50]It provides that in case a
heinous crime has been committed by a person in the age group of 16-18 years,
it will be examined by the Juvenile Justice Board to assess if the crime was
committed as a ‘child’ or as an ‘adult’.
Special Juvenile Police Unit
(SJPU)
When a police officer comes in contact with a juvenile, it is his duty
to send the child to the Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) who must further
report the child to the Board immediately. Generally, juveniles are released on
bail in all cases as long as the Board discover the release of this child will
not region him in any threat or in the have an effect on of criminals. If the
child is not released on bail then the best place for him is the custody of an
Observation Home. The SJPU is responsible for informing the arrest of juvenile
to his parents, as well as the Probation Officer who will make essential
enquires about the child.
Children in Need of Care and
Protection (CNCP)
The Act provides for constituting a Child Welfare Committee for
exercising the powers and to
discharge the responsibilities conferred on such Committees in terms
of children in need of care and protection under this Act. New welfare
institutions set up under Sections 43 and 44 offer to open shelters and Foster
Homes respectively by the State Government for care and safety of the child.
The Act allows the State Government to set up such Observation Homes in each
district because it deems healthy for temporary reception, care and rehabilitation
of any child purported to be in conflict with regulation, for the duration of
the pendency of any inquiry under this Act.[51]
Adoption
The Chapter 8 of the Act streamlines the procedures for orphaned,
abandoned and surrendered children. A legal status has been established under
the Act for the Child Adoption Resources Authority (CARA).[52]
The legislation further proposed numerous rehabilitation and social integration
measures for institutional and non-institutional children.[53]
An effort was also made to addcertain special measures as sponsorship and
foster care.[54]The provision was also
provided for mandatory registration of all institutions engaged in supplying
child care.[55]
ROLE OF JUDICIARY
The judiciary is the custodian of the constitution and the law. It is
the holistic duty and responsibility of the judiciary to provide justice to the
victims of juvenile delinquency in extreme cases like rape, murder, physical
assault etc. However, in the distant past such cases were never brought in the
light because of various reasons. Age assurance is of principal concern to
check if the accused falls under the domain of the Juvenile Justice Act and it
is also essential for deciding the duration of institutionalization.
In the most important Nirbhaya Case (Delhi Gang Rape Case), a
para-medical student named Nirbhaya was brutally gang raped in a moving bus on
the cold night of 16 December 2012 in Delhi, she had ultimately died of the
injuries suffered by her and was also a minor. At the end, the criminals were
awarded death punishment even though one of the criminals was a minor.
It has been found that after Nirbhaya’s case, the judiciary has been
very much particular in awarding the punishment to the culprit which is to
commensurate with the gravity of crime
committed. It is a positive sign for a democratic country.
In Kathua Rape case of 2018, the criminals took the plea that the
culprit was a minor and reserved the relief of being a juvenile but the court
rejected their plea because one of them was found of full age.
In the case of Sanjay Suri v. Delhi Administration[56]
it was proposed that there should be a different structure to keep adolescents.
The issue of age for the commission of an offence has been clarified under
Sec.7A of Juvenile Justice Act, and talked about in the significant instances
of Bhoop Ram v UP[57]and
Bhola Bhagat v Bihar.[58]
In Dharambir v. State (NCT of Delhi) and another,[59]
the Appellant was not an adolescent according to 1986 Act, when the offences
were submitted yet had not finished 18 years on that date. The court was
empowered to consider and decide the immaturity of an individual even after
conviction by the normal court and furthermore engages the Court while keeping
up the conviction to put aside the sentence and forward the case to the J.J.
Board for passing sentence as per the 2000 Act.
The Supreme Court in SampurnaBehrua v. Association of India[60]
observed the significance of the basic privileges of the children and gave
certain directions which included providing guidance to Chief Justices of every
high court of India to suo motto move a request to discover the techniques for
execution of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
The Supreme Court additionally coordinated that national police institutes and
state police foundations must consider including child rights as a piece of
their educational plan on customary premise. Directions were additionally given
that adolescents must be treated with outrageous affectability in the courts
where they are showing up as witnesses particularly in cases identifying with
sexual and terrible offenses.
The Apex Court in Shilpa Mittal v. State of NCT of Delhi[61]
answered the question that whether an offence describing a maximum sentence of
more than seven years imprisonment but not providing any minimum sentence for
providing minimum sentence of less than seven years can be considered to be a
heinous offence within the meaning of Section 2(33) of the Act of 2015. It was
held that an
offence which does not provide a minimum sentence of seven years
cannot be treated to be a heinous offence.
Suggestions
The problem of juvenile delinquency is increasing day by day and it
has almost reached the alarming proportions. No doubt, various Acts have been
passed from time to time and constitutional provisions have been added to deal
with such cases, yet this phenomenon is still very much visible in the society.
No reasonable person would like to sit and watch this phenomenon because it is
a dangerous trendsetter for the community at large. It is therefore suggested
that some appropriate measures should be taken by the people, society and
government.
(i)
The parents should not leave the child at his
volition to do anything whatever he desires rather he needs to be kept under
regular observance/ monitoring.
(ii)
Children are future determinants of the world
and they are the custodians of our civilization. The education of the children
should be formulated in such a way that he remains conscious of his
liabilities.
(iii)
It has been found that government initiatives
have been found insufficient to deal with the malady of juvenile delinquency.
It is high time that necessary steps must be taken at the societal level.
(iv)
The counsellors can play an important role in
preventing juvenile crime.
(v)
There is also much onus on the families in
this behalf because family is the best institution for keeping a check on the
deviant behaviour of the child to deter him from indulging in such activities.
(vi)
There is dire need for effective
implementation of relevant laws connected with juvenile offenders to deal with
the problem religiously.
(vii)
The members of the juvenile justice board
should know child psychology and they should be well trained to handle juvenile
offenders sensitively.
(viii)
Media should play its role from the point of
view to eliminate this evil from the face of our society instead making a
mockery of the system.
(ix)
Many discoveries have found that most of the
adolescents are experiencing psychological maladjustments, sorrow or uneasiness
which needs to be treated by a psychologist.
Conclusion
Any act of juvenile delinquency on the part of the delinquent is a
slur on the child as well as his family. It is also a burden on the society at
large. The crimes are sometimes so heinous such as murder, theft, rape, robbery
or physical assault which attract severe punishment. Keeping in view the
gravity and quantum of the crime, the delinquent child does not deserve any concession
on account of his tender age. Therefore, age should not be the sole criteria to
award a lenient punishment to the offender. For example Section 376 A and
Section 376 E of IPC have provision of death penalty on the minors convicted of
rape. Moreover, heinous crimes of rare nature are a class of their own and
should not be considered akin to petty crimes. Juvenile crimes cannot be put to
an end only by proper implementation of Juvenile Justice Act but rather civil
society should be made aware of this ailment which is making the society a
chronic patient. The juvenile delinquency comes to the notice of parents,
family members and teachers at the first place, if all of them help in taking
preventive measures, the problem can be solved at the initial stage only. They
should stand up in a bold manner to take necessary steps instead of hiding
their evil or protecting their delinquent child. The gist of the discussion is
that the problem of juvenile delinquency is not unsolvable but it needs sincere
efforts.