Jamia Millia Islamia

Faculty of Law

Criminology Penology & Victimology

Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice Act, 2015
B.A.LL.B (H)
3rd Year (Regular)
Submitted to: C A Rasheeda
Submitted by: Adiba Khan
 Juvenile Delinquency & Justice

Introduction:
‘Juvenile’ is a latin word originating from ‘Juvenis’ that means young and ‘delinquency’ had
been derived from the Latin word ‘delinquent’ which means to omit. Juvenile means a person
who has not completed eighteen years of age. Juvenile crime, formally known as juvenile
delinquency, is a term that defines the participation of a minor in an illegal act. It refers to a
variety of anti-social behaviour of a child and s defined somewhat differently by different
societies, it is basically a socially unacceptable tendency of a child at any given time Juvenile
Justice is the legal system that aspires to protect all children, bringing within its ambit the
children in need of protection besides those in conflict with law.1

Children are born selfless and crime free, they are the future and it is the responsibility of
everyone to ensure that they have a safe environment to live in. No one is born a criminal; it is
the surroundings of the society which inculcate crime. It is necessary that there should be proper
development along with proper availability of resources, equal opportunity and healthy
atmosphere for the children to grow with a crime free mind. It is said that Child is born guiltless
but its circumstances that force him/her to do crimes and to curb their involvement in crime; they
need proper supervision, guardianship, quality education and attention. Family plays an
important role in the upbringing of children.2 Positive development is important for the growth of
a child; it implies that it is the proper guidance and care of parents and guardians which helps
them to figure out the difference between wrong and right. Various Juvenile homes and youth
development programs launched for their development and to curb the crime the crimes among
juveniles are raising at an alarming rate3 but still Juvenile Delinquency is a threat for the society,
It harms the future of a children and eventually leads to destruction of a Society.

1
Mousumi Dey, Juvenile Justice in India Juvenile Justice in India, International Journal of Interdisciplinary and
Multidisciplinary Studies (IJIMS), 2014, Vol 1, No.6, 64-70.
2
Id.
3
Charu Singh and Rajeev Singh Bhandar, A study on the Juvenile Delinquency and its Supporting factors, available
at; file:///C:/Users/HP/Desktop/CA169761-9A34-44A5-9D43-EE6A2E991D9F..pdf
Causes of Juvenile Delinquency
Juvenile Delinquency has become a global phenomenon. To curb this many intensive
rehabilitative measures and special procedures are used but still the rise in the incidents of
Juvenile delinquency is considerable. The causes for the unprecedented increase in juvenile
delinquency are as follow:

1. Unplanned Urbanization: Industrial development and economic growth give rise to

Urbanization which leads to many problems like housing, slum dwelling, overcrowding,
lack of parental control, family disintegration and so on. The temptation for the luxurious
life lures youngsters to resort wrongful means to satisfy their wants.
2. Economic Factor: Youths belonging from poor economic status easily get involved in
criminal activities. Failure to provide necessities of life such as food and clothing etc.
leads children towards criminal acts. At a time parents are also conniving at this for the
sake of petty monetary gains.4
3. Biological Factors: Psychological maturity or low intelligence accounts for delinquent
behavior among juveniles. Certain mental disorders that involve difficulties in the
regulation of emotions and impulsive behaviour make children prone to criminal
behaviour. Even depression can lead a person to adopt criminal ways. It acts as a vent to
one’s suppressed anger and aggression.
4. Parent-child Relationship: Misunderstandings, hard feelings, insufficient love and open
conflicts between parents and child results in dissatisfaction and hostility in the child.
Subsequently, such dissatisfaction and hostility precipitates social deviance. Alcoholic
parents and constant quarrel between parents make the home environment intolerable for
the children that lead to delinquent behaviour of the child. British Home Secretary Mr.
Butler once said that the natural consequences of a broken home are lack of parental
control, absence of security and want of love and affection toward children are
contributing factors of juvenile delinquency.
5. Broken Homes: Broken Homes means a home where either of the parents is dead or
living separately. In such situations, the child feels insecure and thereby finds his way on

4
Hemant More, Juvenile Delinquency, available at
https://thefactfactor.com/facts/law/legal_concepts/criminology/juvenile-delinquency/14242/.
 the cross roads. He is exposed to the anti-social activities, which he adopts to satisfy
himself and in the process, he is led towards delinquency.
6. Migration of deserted and destitute boys to slums brings them in contact with anti-social
elements carrying on prostitution, smuggling of liquor or narcotic drugs and bootleggers.
Thus leads into the world of delinquency without knowing what they are doing are
prohibited by law.
7. Some Other Factors are: i) Bad company; ii) Extra-pocket money; iii) Revenge factor;
iv) Poor literacy rate; v) Over exposure to media, vi) Lack of values; vii) Cheap
literature; viii) Love of adventures; ix) Early sex experience; and x) Mental conflicts etc.5

Theories Regarding Juvenile Delinquency

1. Classic theory (Rational choice theory): According to this theory, people are rational
and they used to make calculated choices regarding what they are going to do before an
act. Juvenile delinquents before committing any crime, firstly they collect information
regarding a particular event then process and evaluate information about the crime and
after weighing the benefits of such crime they decide to commit such an act.

2. Social Control Theory: this theory is considered as the most important theory of
sociological theory in regards to juvenile delinquency which lays its foundation on the
ideologies of Thomas Hobbes and in the 20th century criminologist expanded his
ideologies and concluded that without control children would break law. As per this
delinquency is expected behaviour of juveniles. The main purpose was to prevent crime
among juveniles at the very first instance

3. Social bond theory: according to this theory, human beings are connected to society by
four elements: attachment, commitment, involvement and belief. Stronger the bond of
attachment, likely the youth will commit less crimes. Once juveniles are committed
towards their career and get involved in education hence the chances of their involvement
in crime gets less. Through various research it has been reported that children who have a

5
Supra note 3.
 strong bond with their parents and know the importance of ‘Values’ and ‘Beliefs’ are less
likely to become delinquent.
4. Anomie theory: according to Robert Merton, the main reason behind the delinquency
among juveniles is the lack of sources to attain their goals and in order to attain such
goals they fail to analyze wrong and right methods and get involved in activities contrary
to law of the land.6

Historical Perspective

1. International Scenario: In 1704, Pope Clement XI first introduced the idea of the
instruction of profligate youth in institutional treatment. Then Elizabeth Fry established a
separate institution for juvenile offenders. Subsequently, in Britain, Reformatory Schools
Act and Industrial Schools Act were brought a statute book. The first Juvenile Court was
established in 1899 in Chicago under Juvenile Offenders Act. In England, the first
Juvenile Court was set up in 1905. The first probation law was enacted in the state of
Massachusetts, USA in 1878 and in England in 1887.
The International Penal and penitentiary Commission worked successfully on the
prevention of a crime and treatment of the offenders until October 1951 and repeatedly
stressed on the necessity of rational and humane treatment methods which could avoid
the need of keeping of juvenile offenders in prison in order to disassociate them from the
criminal world.
The second and sixth UN Congress on Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders
in 1960 and 1980 discussed in detail the problem of Juvenile delinquency. They decided
that there should be the standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile
Justice. Subsequently, it was accepted that special attention should be given to prevent
Juvenile delinquency. The same area was discussed at Beijing in 1985 in Seventh U.N.
Congress on Prevention of Crime & Treatment of Offenders which examined the
Standard Minimum Rules for the International Journal of Interdisciplinary and
Multidisciplinary Studies, Administration of Juvenile Justice.
6
Charu Singh and Rajeev Singh Bhandar, A study on the Juvenile Delinquency and its Supporting factors, available
at; file:///C:/Users/HP/Desktop/CA169761-9A34-44A5-9D43-EE6A2E991D9F..pdf.
 In 1989, the UN Convention on Rights of the Child (CRC) drew attention to four sets of
Civil, Political, Social, Economic and Cultural rights of every child. The Convention
provides the legal basis for initiating action to ensure the rights of children in society.7

2. Juvenile Delinquency in India. The Juvenile Justice policy in India is structured around
the Constitutional mandate prescribed in the language of Articles 15 (3), 21, 24, 39 (e)
and (f), 45 and 47, as well as several international Covenants, such as the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for
Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules). The Juvenile Justice Bill, in
conformity with Beijing Rules, was first introduced in the Lok Sabha on 22nd August,
1986, and the Central Children Act was replaced by this Juvenile Justice Act. The Law
came into force in all the union territories but the States having no juvenile law were free
to adopt it. In 1974, India declared its National Policy for children. The policy included,
among other things training and rehabilitation of delinquent, destitute, neglected and
exploited children.
The Children Act, 1960 authorised the States to enact their own laws for the care and
protection of the delinquent children and juveniles. Later on it was repealed by the
Juvenile Justice Act. 1986. The Act of 1986 laid down a Uniform framework for Juvenile
Justice in a country, It spelled out the machinery and infra-structure required for the care
protection, treatment, development of various categories of Children coming within the
purview of Juvenile Justice system.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, brought in compliance
with Child Rights Convention 1989, repealed the earlier Juvenile Justice Act of 1986
after India signed and ratified Child Rights Convention 1989 in 1992. This Act has been
further amended in the year 2006 and 2010. The Act provides a special framework for the
protection, treatment and rehabilitation of children in the purview of the Juvenile Justice
System. It has established the Child Welfare Committee to address the needs of ‘Children

7
Mr. Aniruddha Vithal Babar, The Law for Juvenile injustice: Critical Analysis of Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection) Act, 2015, Journal of Legal Studies and Research Vol. 4 Issue 2, 2018.
 in need of care’ and the Juvenile Justice Board to deal with ‘children in conflict with the
law’.8

Convention on Rights on Child and The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection
of Children) Act, 2015
The United Nations Convention on Rights of Child (CRC) was laid down in 1989, which became
a landmark in the international Human Rights legislations. It clearly indicated the rights of the
children and why they should be protected. This rights approach shielded in the CRC entailed
changes in the area of social; justice, equity and empowerment of the young members of society.
Committee on CRC sees to it that countries which have signed up to the UN convention abide by
the norms of the Convention. India ratified the CRC in 1992 and since then it has been bringing
out various legislations to cover the rights of children. Juvenile Justice Act in India is one such
legislation which clearly and extensively deals with issues of erring children.
According to Section 2 (k) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
juvenile is a person who is below 16 years. Prior to JJ Act of 2015, the age bar for juveniles was
18 years (Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, 2006, 2012). In fact, the
age of the juvenile under the Indian legislation has taken variation in temporal and spatial
perspectives. It varies from 14 to 18 years under different laws and different Indian states
Lakshmi Kant Pandey v. Union of India9, of the Hon'ble Supreme Court wherein the Apex Court
watched that children are "particularly imperative national assets" and the future flourishing of
the nation depends upon how its children create and make. From the judgment, it was obvious
that it was preferable to Article 21, as the solicitation was under Article 32 and reference to
Article 15(3) and 24 were in help thereof. The Court recognized the benefit to a home, a name,
and a family as a part of the “right to life”.
The Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 defines, under section 2 (I) defines juvenile in conflict with law
as a juvenile who is alleged to have committed an offence and is under 18 years of age (and
above the age of 10 years) on the date of commission of crime. Under the various Indian laws,

8
Supra Note 1, p. 65.
9
AIR 1984 SC 469.
there is no consensus over the definition of child, which creates confusion and dilemma over the
legal treatment of the children.
Under section 2 (d) the same Act, there is another category of children- “Children in Need for
Care and Protection” referred. These children are defined as the ones who are found without any
home or settled place of abode and without any ostensible means of subsistence. They may be
street children/ indulging in beggary, child laborers, orphaned/ abandoned/ destitute children,
abused children/ trafficked children, children suffering from physical deformity/ mental illness or
victims of conflict and disaster situations.

● Prerogatives of Juvenility: Section 94 of the JJ Act, 2015 prescribes the procedure to be

adopted by the board for the determination of juvenility. In the case of Kulai Ibrahim
alias Ibrahim v. State Represented by I.G. Police, Coimbatore 10, observed that s. 7-A of
JJ Act, 2000 gives the accused to raise the question of Juvenility at any point of time even
after the disposal of the case. The Board had to consider Rule 12 of the Juvenile Justice
Rules, 2007 in order to determine the claim of juvenility. In case of Deoki Nandan
Dayma v. State of Uttar Pradesh11 The court held that entry in the register of school
mentioning the date of birth of a student is admissible evidence in determining the age of
juvenile or to show that whether the accused is juvenile or child. Again in the case of
Satbir Singh & others v. State of Haryana12, Supreme Court again reiterated that for the
purpose of determining whether an accused is juvenile or not, the date of birth which is
recorded in the school records shall be taken into consideration by the Juvenile Justice
Board. In case of Krishna Bhagwan v. State of Bihar13 the court stated that for the
purpose of trial under Juvenile Justice Board, the relevant date for the considering the age
of juvenile should be on which the offence has been committed. But later in case of Arnit
Das v. State of Bihar14, the Supreme Court overruled its previous decision and held that
date to decide in claim of juvenility should be the date on which the accused is brought
before the competent authority.

10
AIR 2014 SC 2726.
11
1997 (10) SCC 525.
12
AIR 1981 SC 2074.
13
Criminal Appeal No. 478 of 1984.
14
AIR 2001 SC 3575.
 ● Heinous Crime: The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 which
will now allow children in the 16-18 age group to be tried as adults if they commit
heinous crimes. Any child that found committing any crime will be sent for a preliminary
assessment for a period of three months, up from the earlier one month. The preliminary
assessment is not a trial, but to assess the child’s capacity to commit the crime. The Act
allows a Juvenile Justice Board, which would include psychologists and sociologists, to
decide whether a juvenile criminal in the age group of 16–18 should be tried as an adult
or not. Under which the assessment will look into the special needs of the child, under the
tenet of fair trial under a child-friendly atmosphere. The discretionary powers are given
to the Juvenile Justice Board to transfer juveniles to criminal court for trial and
punishment. The Juvenile Justice Act clearly defined and classified offences as petty,
serious and heinous, and defined differentiated processes for each category.

● Observation Homes: Section 8 of the Act provides for the establishment of the
Observation Homes for the temporary reception of the juvenile in conflict with law
during inquiry and trial of the case whereas Section 9 makes provision for the Special
Homes for juvenile who are found guilty of an offence. In the case of Sheela Barse v.
Union of India15, Supreme Court observed that despite statutory provisions to the effect
that children should be kept in jail, a large number of children and juveniles were still
lodged in jails. Court also observed that there is no controversy or doubt that the juveniles
have to be kept in Observation Homes and not in jail pending inquiry or trial irrespective
of the fact that they have coressed and the age-limit of being treated as juvenile pending
inquiry or trial.

● Bail under the JJ, Act, 2015: Section 12 of the JJ Act, 2015 provides that the
juveniles should be released on bail as a general rule and should be sent to jail only in
special cases. A juvenile in conflict with law may be released on bail even by the officer-
in-charge of the Police Station. A bail may be denied on following grounds.

15
AIR 1989 Pat 217.
 1. Where there is a reasonable apprehension that such release would bring the
juvenile in association with known criminals;
2. There is a possibility of his being exposed to moral, physical or psychological
exploitation;
In Gopinath Ghosh v. State of West Bengal16, the Supreme Court observed that when a
juvenile is brought before the Juvenile Court and in the opinion of the Court, after release
on bail he is not likely to fall in company of hardened or known criminals or exposed to
physical, mental or psychological danger or his release is not going to result in failure of
justice, the bail should be granted to him and he should be released.

Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency

It is widely proved that early-phase intervention represents the best approach to preventing
juvenile delinquency. In order to prevent juvenile crimes we have to deal not only with
maladjusted children whose difficulties bring them before law but also with those who while not
violating laws are disturbing others in school and other places. First of all, we should identify
such juveniles and thereafter give them treatment. Prevention requires individual, group,
organizational efforts that aim at keeping juveniles from breaking the law. Through the economic
sector, development programmes with professional training, vocational educations are the areas
which can help and prevent youth involvement in delinquent activities. In legal application of
JJA it is vital for the authorities to be involved in the Juvenile justice system to build effective
partnership with civil society. Involvements of NGOs and local communities can also help in
preventing juvenile gang delinquency. Government should put more emphasis on attractive
beneficial long-term schemes for juveniles so that they regain their self-confidence and feel
motivated to join the mainstream of society.

16
(1984) SCC (Cri.) 478.
Conclusion

Juvenile delinquency is a tremendous burden on society. The crimes are sometimes of heinous
nature like murder, rape, robbery. Age must not be a sole criterion to award a lenient punishment
to the offender. A petty theft cannot be compared with the offence of murdering someone.
Heinous crimes of rare nature are a class of their own and hence should not be considered akin to
petty crimes. It is noticed that, serious crimes like rape and murders also go unpunished with the
offender wearing the grab of juvenility. It is vital to make aware of civil society about this
disease that exists in our sick society. Juveniles involved in crimes are not criminals, in fact, they
are victims of society. The centre of interest in juvenile court is always a juvenile and his
welfare. Juvenile justice system needs to maintain rehabilitation as its primary goal and
distinguish itself from the criminal justice system.
Bibliography

Books

1. Prof. N.V. Paranjape, Criminology & Penology (including Victimology), (Central Law
Publication, Prayagraj, edn. 18th, 2019).

2. Ahmad Siddique’s, Criminology Penology and Victimology, (Eastern Book Company,

edn., 17th, 2019).

PDF’s and Sites

1. Dr. Ratnaprava Barik and Dr. Jayanta Kumar Dash, Juvenile Justice in India: A
Historical Outline, International Journal of Current Research Vol. 10 Issue 09, 2018.

2. Mr. Aniruddha Vithal Babar, The Law for Juvenile injustice: Critical Analysis of
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015, Journal of Legal Studies and Research
Vol. 4 Issue 2, 2018.

3. Mousumi Dey, Juvenile Justice in India Juvenile Justice in India, International Journal of
Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Studies (IJIMS), 2014, Vol 1, No.6, 64-70.

4. Vendhur Routiya, A Critical Study of Children Under Juvenile Justice System in India,
IOSR Journal of Electronics and Communication Engineering, 2016.

5. Charu Singh and Rajeev Singh Bhandar, A study on the Juvenile Delinquency and its
Supporting factors, available at www.manupatra.com.