Juvenile Crimes In India

By :-
Siddhant Raut(15CS01038)
Abhinav Saketh(15CE01002)
Who Is A Juvenile?

Juvenile means children who have not yet reached the age of adults in

the sense that they are still childish or immature.In terms of law, a

juvenile is a person who has not attained the age of 18 years.

As per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000, a juvenile

shall not be treated as an adult even if he/she is involved in any criminal

acts for the purpose of trial and punishment in the court of law.
Juvenile Crime
India has passed a new law that would, in cases of heinous crimes
like rape and murder, try 16-year-olds as adults. In such cases,
the Juvenile Justice Boardscomprising a metropolitan
magistrate or a judicial magistrate and two social workerswill
have the discretion to decide whether the offender should be
tried by courts of law like adults, or whether the offender should
be tried as a juvenile.

For all other crimes,the age mark for judicial trial as an adult is
18 years.
Case Study 1
A 14-year old boy ,Rahul was suffering from attention deficit hyperactive
syndrome, and his parents were worried about his studies and not the fact
that he used to drive the family car.They were instead proud of his driving
skills. The youngsters father is an engineer, who has his own business and his
mother is a corporate executive. His parents argued that he just wouldnt
listen to them and they didnt think it was serious.

Underage driving could have serious consequences was made tragically clear in
the national capital when a 15-year-old driving a Mercedes hit 32-year-old
Siddharth Sharma, killing him.
Case Study 2
I hit him with a stone, but I didnt want to kill him

16-year old Sathya used to work as a casual labourer earning 7000 INR per
month to support his family of four brothers and a sister .His workplace was
a kilometre away from his home.On his way home he would often confront an
acquaintance who was always under the influence of drugs asking him for
money and he usually gave him little amounts to avoid fight.Once he had
INR300 with him but he refused to give it away .That made him angry and he
started beating Sathya .Sathya couldnt take it for long so he hit him with a
stone .Later he came to know that the guy was dead.He was a victim of the
circumstance,he never was a criminal .
Case Study 3
17-year old Vishay had always been a troubled teen.Stealing money from his
parents for cigarettes,responding with outburst of rage when reprimanded,
complaining about his family being poor,he was showing signs of a wayward
teen. He adapted by being manipulative and opportunistic,making rich friends,
watching porn online. Vishay was going through what we call conduct disorder
when children passing through adolescence become stubborn and
aggressive. Vishay was accused of raping a 7-year old neighbourhood girl, his
response was a simple- Who are you to judge me? I will do what I want.Vishay
meets with the doctor once a month for counselling. That is how the families
have decided to resolve the issue.
Case Study 4
17-year-old Rakesh had been taken from the small town in UP where he grew
up and deposited with an aunt and uncle in Navi Mumbai while his parents
moved to the Gulf to work.In his new, unfamiliar surroundings, Rakesh was
largely unsupervised, since his guardians worked long hours as accountants.
His parents called occasionally, on the weekends.Desperate to fit in, Rakesh
fell in with the wrong crowd and began experimenting with drugs. From
marijuana, he migrated to heroin and began stealing money from his uncle,
filching and pawning his aunts jewellery, even robbing small items from
neighbours homes and conning people into contributing money for fake
neighbourhood celebrations, in order to fund his habit.
Pradyuman Case
A class XI student of Ryan International School was arrested in connection
with the murder of a 7 year old Pradyuman Thakur with whom he took piano
lessons in Bhondsi School. Being familiar with the victim, he easily convinced
Pradyuman to accompany him to the washroom on the pretext of seeking a
favour, and slit his throat. The juvenile said that after the first slash,
Pradhyumn vomited blood and fell on the knife , receiving a second, deeper
cut.The accused also reportedly confessed that he had exam-phobia and
wanted to postpone the exams at any cost.

The juvenile claimed the atmosphere at his home was not good due to
frequent fights between his parents and that's why he lost interest in
studies.
INSTANCES WHICH AFFECTED THE LAW
Nirbhaya Case(December 2012)
The law permits juveniles between 16-18 years of age to be tried as adults
for heinous offences.
Under new Juvenile Justice law, those in 16-18 age group will be examined by
Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to assess if crime was committed as child or
adult.
JJB with psychologists and social experts will ensure rights of juvenile are
protected if crime was committed as a "child".
After the passage of the bill, each district in the country will get Juvenile
Justice Boards (JJB) and Child Welfare Committees.
The first legislation on juvenile justice in India came in the year 1850 which
required that children between the ages of 10-18 years, convicted in courts
should be provided vocational training as a part of their rehabilitation
process.
This Act was further amended in 2006 and 2011 and is now known as the
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000.
In May 2015, a bill providing the trial of juveniles aged between 16-18 years,
for heinous crimes under laws governing adults, was passed by the Lok Sabha.
 Causes
Family

Economic problems in family.

Psychological problems in family.
Social problems.
Moral problems.
Parenting style.

Society

Labeling.
 Causes continued...
Personal reasons

Social concerns.
Psychological concerns.
Drug use.
Physical concerns.

Peer Group Influence

Gangs and cliques.

Abusive behaviour.
Peer group rejection.
Impacts of juvenile crimes
Effects on the victim- may suffer in terms of health, psychological-
impact, wealth or property ,etc.
Effects on the juvenile delinquent- suffers in terms of academic-facility,
psychological-impact, closeness to other delinquents in detention, loss of
freedom and natural teenage life, etc.
Effects on the family of delinquent-trauma and sense of disgrace , bearing
expenses of child-care, penalty , ethical responsibilities towards victims
family, etc.
Effects on the community- unsafe neighbourhood makes way for unhealthy
environment, large amounts of public money be spent on safety and law
enforcement.
Effects on society- future of everyone involved in the crime is challenged.
Combating juvenile delinquency

Crime prevention by reducing opportunities and preventing revictimization

by strengthening three main influences being school, family and
community.
Supporting families in crisis and providing home-based support.
Diverting young people from delinquent behaviour by organising parenting-
programmes.
A crime prevention focus within education, which is not limited to
curriculum, will achieve the changes required to impact on this group of
young people.
Challenges in preventing juvenile crimes

Bringing juvenile age to 16 years doesnt help because still significant

number of juvenile delinquencies committed by children under-16 years
is recorded every year.
Preventing substance abuse ,i.e influence of drugs or alcohol or marijuana
has always been a debated issue .
Parents cant be forced to change their parenting style ,though they can
be guided or taught but theres no check .