Criminology

1. Topic: Historical Conspectus Of Juvenile Justice
In India
Student Name: Gurman Kaur
Class: BBA LLB
Section: 4A
Subject Faculty: PROF MS. RASHMI NAGPAL

2. Introduction
1. The history of juvenile justice system in India concerns children who have
conflicted with the law and need care and protection. Children are considered
the greatest asset of any society or Nation that is why children should be grown
as responsible citizens, mentally alert, physically fit, and morally healthy so
they can contribute to the betterment of society.
2. In India, a person below the age of 18 years is considered a juvenile. There is a
difference between juvenile and minors. Minor is a person who has not attained
the age of full legal responsibility and the juvenile is a minor who has
committed some offence or needs care and protection. A juvenile is tried in the
juvenile court.
3. In India, any child below the age of 7 years can not be convicted of any crime
because of the doctrine of Doli incapax which means incapable of forming
intent to commit a crime.
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3. •Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Act, 2015 was introduced in the
country and replaced the Juvenile Act 2000.
•This act was passed by the parliament after much controversy and protest. It has
introduced many changes in existing juvenile law in India.
• This act allows juveniles involved in the heinous crimes age group between 16-18
are treated as adults. Making the juvenile justice system in India more responsive
and according to the changing circumstances of society.
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4. OBJECTIVE
The primary goals of the juvenile justice system, in addition to maintaining public
safety, are skill development, habilitation, rehabilitation, addressing treatment
needs, and successful reintegration of youth into the community. The juvenile
justice system takes a significantly more restorative approach than the adult
criminal justice system. A truly successful case for youth would result in the
adolescent learning from the experience without exposure to the severity of an
adult prison, altering their decisions and life course moving forward, and having
no future contact with the juvenile or criminal justice systems.
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5. THREE COMMON THEORIES
THREE COMMON THEORIES ON JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
•Anomie theory
•The subculture theory
• The Differential opportunity theory.
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6. ANOMIE THEORY
• The anomie theory was first written in the 1940s by Robert Merton. Merton's
theory explains that juvenile delinquency occurs because the juveniles do not
have the means to make themselves happy. Their goals are unattainable within
legal means so they find unlawful means by which to attain their goals.
• An example would be a juvenile who has had a goal to get a job and purchase a
car. The juvenile is not able to find a job to make money so he either steals a car
or he steals money to purchase a car.
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7. SUBCULTURE THEORY
• Another theory about juvenile delinquency is the subculture theory. In 1955, Albert
Cohen developed the subculture theory, which is a culmination of several of his
theories. The subculture theory is much like it sounds; juveniles that do not meet the
social standards seek validation from a subculture. The subculture group is formed
of other juveniles who also do not meet the social standards.
• These groups then act in manners that are not socially acceptable and rebel against
the socially acceptable standards. According to Cohen, juvenile delinquency is a
product of society. The juveniles commit crimes, such as stealing, because it is not a
social norm, and they do it to fit in with their subculture.
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8. DIFFERENTIAL OPPORTUNITY THEORY
• The differential opportunity theory does not fully support Cohen's theory that
juveniles become delinquent when they do not meet society's standards.
Differential opportunity theory, developed by Richard Cloward and Lloyd
Ohlin in 1960, believes that opportunity plays a role in juvenile delinquency.
• Cloward and Ohlin's theory states that if juveniles have more opportunities to
succeed, then they would be less likely to turn to subculture groups for
validation. Additionally, the differential opportunity theory believes that there
can be other circumstances besides social factors that add to a juvenile's
delinquency.
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9. • Cloward and Ohlin's theory believes that the juvenile may be successful
during school but may fail to find gainful employment. The inability to
find gainful employment can lead the juvenile to be delinquent and not
the social factors. The differential opportunity theory differs from the
subculture theory because there are reasons other than social factors that
can lead a juvenile to be delinquent. If the juvenile has more
opportunities, they will be more willing to succeed than to join a
subculture.
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10. SHEELA BARSE & ANR. V. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.
This petition was filed in the Hon’ble Supreme Court for getting
directions regarding the release of children, below 16 years of
age, from jails. The petitioners also prayed for the production of
complete information about children in jails, and the existence of
juvenile courts, homes, and schools in the country.
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The Hon’ble Supreme Court, acting on the petition, directed:
• State Legal Aid & Advice Board to send two lawyers to each jail within the State once a
week to provide legal assistance to children (below 16 years of age), who are detained in
prisons.
• All State Governments to report the number of children's homes, remand homes &
observation homes for children in their States, and the number of inmates in each of
those institutions.
• States to properly enforce the ‘Children’s Act’ enacted by them. They must file affidavits
to show cause why they are not implementing those Acts. District and Sessions Judges to
make regular visits to the District Jails and to take particular care of child prisoners.

12. JITENDER SINGH @ BABBOO SINGH & ANR. V.
STATE OF U.P.
In this case, the court held that anyone claiming to be a minor on the date of an offence should
make such a claim at the earliest available opportunity before the Trial Court or the High
Court. But, if no such claim is made for some reason, then that does not disentitle a person
from raising such a claim before the Supreme Court. JJ Act is a beneficial legislation and a
technical plea (like delay in making the claim of juvenility) would not disable a person from
making a claim under the Act. But, the burden of proof, for making out a prima facie case for
directing an inquiry into the plea of juvenility, rests on the person who makes such a claim.
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13. Sampurna Behura v. Union of India & Ors. [Writ
Petition (Civil) No. 473 of 2005]
This case was primarily related to the implementation of the Juvenile Justice
(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, and Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (“Juvenile Justice Act, 2015”).
The court observed that the children are the future of our country and they
must be looked after. So, it issued several directions to ensure proper
implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015:
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14. • Central and State Governments must ensure that all the vacancies in the National
Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and State Commissions for
Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) are filled for the effective functioning of these
statutory bodies.
• State-Level Child Protection Societies and District Level Child Protection Units should
take assistance from NGOs and civil society for proper implementation of the JJ Act.
• State Government must ensure the filling up of all the positions in the Juvenile Justice
Boards (JJBs) and Child Welfare Committees (CWCs). JJBs and CWCs must have
regular sittings to ensure that there is no backlog of inquiries and children in need of care
& protection are being taken care of.
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• State Governments were advised to ensure that all the Child Care Institutions (CCIs) are registered so that
the issues of missing children & trafficking are addressed.
• Eminent Persons from civil society must be appointed as Visitors by State & UT Governments to monitor
& supervise the CCIs
• . Members of the Juvenile Justice Boards, Child Protection Societies, District Child Protection Units, and
Special Juvenile Police Units must be given adequate training and sensitization for the proper
implementation of the JJ Act.
• All the Chief Justices of the High Courtswere urged to consider establishing child-friendly courts &
vulnerable witness courts in each district to deal with inquiries under the JJ Act and trials under POCSO
Act, etc.

16. Conclusion of the Topic
The rising rate of juvenile delinquency in India is cause for concern and requires
immediate attention. Although the government has enacted various laws and
regulations to reduce the occurrence of juvenile offenses, current juvenile laws do
not have a deterrent effect on juveniles, so the results are ineffective and the
legislative intent is not being met. To address the issue of juvenile delinquency,
everyone has a role to play, such as society, parents, rehabilitation facilities, and
so on. If all of these factors come together, this real-life problem will be solved in
no time.
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