The Juvenile Justice Act 2021, the Act without clear vision for children

 One of the main provisions of the JJA Act 2021 is allowing the trial of juveniles in conflict with law in the age group of 16-18 years as adults, in cases where the crimes were to be determined. The Juvenile Justice Board will determine the nature of the crime, and whether the juvenile should be tried as a minor or a child.

This Act clearly established following:

a.      The Juvenile Justice Act 2021 has divided the world crime into 3 diverse genera:

a.       (1) Petty offence (2) Serious offence (3) Heinous offence.

b.      A 16 years old child in the case of heinous crime offender will be treated as an adult.

a.      That means the J.J. protection shall not be granted in this case.

The Act further clarifies about the categories of crimes:

Petty Offence: A minor offense for which one may be tried at common law without a jury or for which there is no constitutional right to trial by jury- that may not be the subject of an indictment.

Serious Offences: Serious offences incorporate offences for which least detainment of three years and not surpassing seven years are endorsed under Section 2(54) of the Indian Penal Code. This eliminates the uncertainty and has been brought to guarantee the Juvenile’ greatest assurance to get them far from the adult justice system.

Heinous Offences: Heinous Offences are those wrongdoings that recommend the least discipline of seven years or more under Section 2(33) of the Indian Panel Code. For the most part, Heinous Crimes include some type of exceptional individual injury or death; e.g., Murder, assault, sexual molestation, and so on.

 

We need to answer following question to analyse the JJ Act 2021. And the questions are:

Can punishment change human behaviour? Do punishments deter more wrongdoing?  Do punishments actually reform an offender?

My understanding says big No. Increasing the severity of punishment does little to deter crime because it is seen as an end in itself. The problem lies here. The change in the JJ Act 2015 does not seek to change the offender’s behaviour and help him/her to a new path but to put behind the bar and develop him/her into a hard core criminal. There are many empirical data available but I will share few. These data collected with the help of Google.

According to the National Institute of Justice, USA, almost 44% of criminals released return before the first year out of prison. Another report says an estimated 68% of released prisoners were arrested within 3 years, 79% within 6 years, and 83% within 9 years ( www.ojp.gov) . 

Some facts from India:

National Crime Reports Bureau (NCRB) in 2019, the adolescent crime percentages spikes higher when contrasted with earlier years individually. The number of juvenile offences increased from 28677 in 2018 to 29287 in 2019.

8 minors arrested every day for crime against women. Of the 2750 juveniles caught in 2019 for violence against women, 1383 face rape charges. Similarly 1678 of 3258 in 2018, 1737 of 3435 in 2017 and 2054 of 3754 in 2016 were facing rape charges. Crimes committed by juveniles increased to 35.6 % in Delhi after JJ Act 2015. (Source: TOI & NCRB).

 

It is quite clear that the policy makers do not go for wide consultation and some serious resource work before many such an important law, which will be affecting the children directly. The policy document lacks clear vision and developmental path for children committing crimes. The objective of any law, specially for juvenile, should for bringing reform in them and not pushing them towards hard core crime world.

 

We have beautiful programs and schemes like 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', Kishori Shakti Yojana, Balika Samridhi Yojana, SABLA, Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram, and Adolescent Reproductive Sexual Health Programme (ARSH) etc. The government should act on such programs for creating safe and secure environment for children and building a nation full of healthy, educated and empowered youth.