Who is a juvenile?
Who is a juvenile? A juvenile means a person who has not completed the age of eighteen. Today it is the universally accepted definition of a child that comes from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Section 83 of the IPC states that nothing is a crime, committed by a child between the ages of 7 to 12 years of age and has not attained maturity to understand the nature and consequences of his act.
why the need of the new juvenile law- The fearful Nirbhaya case 2012 showed the dire need to introduce a new bill and re-enact the existing juvenile justice act 2000.because in Nirbhaya case 2012 there was an accused who had not attained the age of 18 years and he was 6 months away from being a major.
Why does a child become a juvenile delinquent?
From 2003 to 2013 a 1.3% increase in cases of juveniles has been observed. The reason for such behavior of children towards these acts is due to parental care, upbringing, financial status, negligence, abusive behavior etc. children Can be manipulated very easily, so they are used as a tool to commit such crimes.
Mental Health factors are also a part of individual factors. The mental state of a person is extremely important for his behavior in society. Thus, these factors can contribute to an adolescent’s involvement in harmful, destructive, and illegal activities.
What says new law of juvenile justice act 2015?
The new Juvenile justice act 2015 (child care and protection act), bill Passed in Rajya-Sabha on Tuesday 22 December 2015, after the Nirbhaya case accused juvenile was released and came into force on 15 January 2016.
The juveniles between the ages of 16-18 years will be tried as adults for crimes like rape, murder, etc because the bill says that if the person is committing such acts then he is mature enough to understand its nature and its consequences.
There are three Crimes categories under juvenile justice act 2015
- Section 2(33) of the juvenile justice act 2015, “Heinous offenses” are those for which the minimum punishment under IPC (INDIAN PENAL CODE 1860) or any other law is imprisonment for 7 years.
- Section 2(45), “Petty offenses” are those for which maximum punishment under IPC (INDIAN PENAL CODE 1860) or any other law is imprisonment for up to 3 years.
- Section 2(54), “Serious offenses” for which punishment under IPC or any other law is imprisonment between 3 to 7 years.
Juvenile delinquency prevention
Hate crime, not criminals”. The assumption is that a person is not a criminal by birth. That is the circumstance that makes him a criminal. Therefore, opportunity should be provided to remove the circumstances and improve the culprit.
Any Crime is not naturally born in the child but it is present in him because of the surroundings environment that he is brought up in, his own absurd actions or simply lack of discipline and improper education.
Earlier, serious offenses like rape and murder go unaffiliated with the tag of the accused juvenile and this was required to be stopped through proper implementation and reform of existing laws. It was also a big step for the society and the upcoming generations. If they are given proper education and care at school or at home, then these wrongdoings can be prevented.
