This article deals with ONLY one aspect of the Juvenile Justice Act; i.e. Children in Conflict with Law. “Children are the future of our country and it is the responsibility of every one to provide a sustainable support and ensure that they have a dignified and a safe environment to live in”.
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uvenile Justice Act 2000 is the only beneficial legislation for the children in India, but there are various aspects of it in terms of its implementation; such as the machineries, the professionals involved in it, which play an important role in its implementation. There are various grey areas which are not spelt out in the legislation and the same is left with the competent authorities for interpretation. This interpretation is further governed by the Principles of Best Interest of the Child. The main objective is to provide a protective umbrella for all children in difficult circumstances. The Act covers all types of children below the age of 18 years, and further support to children till the age of 21 years.
History of Juvenile Justice.
The first legislation recognizing the need to cater to children came into force in the year 1850 this was the Apprentice Act which provided that children in the age group of 10-18 convicted by courts were intended to be provided with some vocational training which might help in their rehabilitation. It was followed by Reformatory Schools Act, 1897. The Indian Jail Committee (1919-1920) brought to the fore the vital need for a fair trial and treatment of children in conflict with law. Its recommendations prompted the enactment of the Children Act in Madras in 1920. This was followed by Bengal and Bombay Acts in 1922 and 1924 respectively.
The Central enactment, the Children Act, 1960 was passed to cater to the heads of the Union Territories. The Children Act 1986 was later amended in the year 1978. But the need of a uniform legislation regarding juvenile justice for the whole country had been expressed in various forums including Parliament but it could not be enacted on the ground that the subject matter of such legislation fell in the State List of the Constitution. To bring the operations of the juvenile justice system in the country in conformity with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, Parliament exercised its power under Article 253 and on the 22nd August, 1986, the Juvenile Justice Bill, 1986 was introduced in the Lok Sabha. Later came the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection Act) 2000.
Juvenile Justice amended Act 2006.
Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (amended act 2006) is more elaborative than the 1986 Act and caters widely to two categories of children; children who have committed crimes and children who are in need of care and protection.
JJ Act 2000 lays special emphasis on the rehabilitation and social integration of the children. The Act has provided for institutional and non-institutional measures for care and protection of children. The act also envisages a system of partnerships with local communities and local governments to implement the legislation. The 2000 Act came into force to make an attempt to cover the lacunae which were existing in the existing laws.
JJ Act further provides for the establishment of children’s homes, for the care, treatment and protection of neglected and abandoned children. Institutional care still appears to be the largest service for the care of the destitute and orphan children. The JJ act also speaks for the setting up of Observation homes, Juvenile homes, Special homes, Aftercare homes and recognising fit persons/institutions for the temporary reception of both children in need of care and protection and that of children in conflict with law.
In order to deal with children in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law the JJ Act 2000 has authorised constitution of two competent authorities.
They are:
v Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for children in need of care and protection (Section 29)
v Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) for children in conflict with law. (Section 4).
The Child Welfare committee (CWC).
CWC is the sole authority constituted to deal with cases concerning children in need of care and protection for each district. The Committee is the final authority to dispose off cases pertaining to the care, protection, treatment, development and rehabilitation of the children as well as to provide for their basic needs and safeguarding their human rights. The CWC does play an important role in catering to the needs of the children in conflict with law.
The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
The JJB is an authority constituted to deal with matters concerning children who have committed crimes for each district or group of districts.
Once a crime is committed and the child is apprehended, the child within 24 hrs is produced before the JJB. Till the inquiry is pending the child is kept in an observation home, unless otherwise released on bail. On conviction, the child is sent to the special home or place of safety.
Under this Act, children in conflict with law has a right to bail; and granting a bail is mandatory, except under three instances;
i. If his release would bring him into association with any known criminals,
ii. Exposes him to moral, physical and psychological danger,
iii. His release would defeat the end of justice. Instead of being sent to a jail on conviction, the law takes a reformatory approach and the juvenile can be released on probation after advice and admonition or, placed in custody of special homes.
The act puts grave responsibilities on the Board and the Committee to look into the rehabilitation and social reintegration of the children who are in conflict with law, thus putting an obligation on the Board to be cautious that the child does not end up becoming a criminal in the future.
The Board ought to take into consideration about the time specification given by the Juvenile Justice Act 2000. If cases against children are allowed to remain pending for indefinite time beyond stipulated time frame. then it would lead to exploitation of the juvenile and his/her guardian by the player within the system. The Act puts the burden on the Board to keep a track of such cases and dispose them at the earliest.
Police
For the purpose of achieving such rehabilitation and social integration, elaborate procedures are prescribed under the Act. The Act under Section 63 provides that the Police Officers with adequate aptitude and appropriate training and orientation, be designated as a Juvenile or Child Welfare Officer, to handle the juvenile in coordination with the local Police.
The key responsibility of Police Officers, whether designated as a Juvenile or Child Welfare Officer or not, is that the Officer, should always keep in mind that a juvenile in conflict with law or a child in need of care and protection, is required to be handled gently and cannot be treated on par with persons, who are, otherwise, called criminals. A special juvenile polices unit needs to be opened by Goa police as envisaged under the JJ act 2000 and Rules 2007 therein.
As per the rule 11 (11) of the JJ act 2000 “where the punishment is less than 7 years the police are not suppose to register FIR in cases but it is learnt that the practice of filing a FIR even in petty cases is still carried on, which is a violation of the JJ Act. Even in theft of rupees 120/- the police have registered an FIR.
There are various cases where children are made the scape goat for increasing detection of crime at the police station levels. I have come across children during my legal intervention at the board who are apprehended and lodged in the observation home inspite of such children not involved in the crime. Till date a total number of 80 cases have been dealt most of it leading to acquittal with no convictions.
Probation Officer
In the said act Probation Officer’s role is very vital in providing effective implementation. Inorder to discharge his duties the Probation Officer ought to know the very fundamental principle underlying the Juvenile Justice Act. Primarily the Probation Officer plays duel role; one as a investigator and the other as a supervisor. Secondly; he has a vital role in reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of the children who come within the purview of the Juvenile Justice Act.
State Government
Inorder to achieve the prime objective enshrined in the Juvenile Justice Act, the State Government is required to provide all the support system to ensure that the Board functions effectively. The State Government is under the obligation to provide logistic support to ensure all the provisions are enforced in its true spirit. It is not possible with the sole participation of Government to enforce the Act in its true spirit. The need for collaboration and partnership with stakeholders can alone make it viable for the enforcement of the Act in its true spirit and in toto. The Act also does put to a certain extent an onus on the legal fraternity to look into other aspects rather than solely legal. The functioning of all the stake holders revolves around the infrastructure and facilities provided by the State Government.
Conclusion
Juvenile justice is the only existing legislation on children, which purely and primarily deal with children in conflict with the law and their rehabilitation. This law has been designed to apply the principle of reformation rather than the punitive approach. It has been noted that the enforcement of this law in terms of protection of the children is weak.
The ultimate purpose of the Juvenile Justice amended Act, 2006 is repatriation, rehabilitation and social reintegration of children who are in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection. One of the crux of this Act is that the inquiries pertaining to all children in conflict with law should conclude within the period of 4 to 6 months as envisaged under the law and records to be destroyed after 7 years. Inspite of having such a comprehensive and beneficial legislation in operation, there still stands a risk of violations of Children’s Rights within the system.
Within the society there are other issues of serious nature which affects the children e. g drug use and addiction to tobacco has been one of the common factors among the children in conflict with law. This issue evolves around peer influence. This makes it important for the children to be counselled and treated before they become victims to other drugs and should be referred for detoxification.
The place where the children are housed is known as observation home. If one interprets the term “HOME”, it would mean love, protection, security and a family setup which would cater to the emotional and mental aspect, of a child.
There is no dearth of laws concerning the welfare and protection of children; but what we lack in is the logistical support required for its implementation. Juvenile Justice Act 2000 is a comprehensive legislation which provides elaborative procedure to be followed keeping the Principle of Best Interest in the forefront. Goa has witnessed an alarming increase in reporting of crimes committed by children and those committed against them. Concern over violation of child rights in such situations, is growing. While going through these provisions of the legislations, clearly lacks in the area of accountability of various stake holder and bodies constituted under the law. There is a need to come up with guidelines and proper understanding as to procedures to be followed.
Prevention is always better then cure. It is high time we tap the children who are vulnerable who can become the future criminals. This can surely be achieved by keeping in mind the best interest of the children and the Principle of restoration, rehabilitation and social reintegration. This can only be ensured with effective partnership with the civil society.
There is a need for greater sensitivity and care while dealing with children in conflict with law. This can be achieved by giving utmost importance to child welfare and protection, along with creating social responsibility and greater awareness among stake holders.
Emidio Pinho
LLM (Human Rights)
