Introduction
They
There are 472 million children in India
under the age of 18 years, representing 39%
of the country’s total population. A large
percentage, 29% of that figure constitute
children between the ages of 0 to 6 years. In
addition, 73% of children in India are living
in rural areas, often have limited access to
fundamental needs such as nutrition, access
to healthcare, education, and protection. The
high percentage of children living in rural
areas often result in negative repressions in
terms of children accessing fundamental
rights. India’s commission for the protection
of children’s rights (act 2005) (amended in
2006), has had some impact in promoting
children’s rights in India. Notably
eliminating child labour, protection of
children, and young persons. The
commission’s mandate is “to ensure all
Laws, Policies, Programmes, and
Administrative Mechanisms are in line with
the Child Rights perspectives as enshrined in
the constitution of India and the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child”,
adopted in 1989. It is clear that in India
promoting children’s rights is a government
priority, that is enshrined within the
constitution and protected in legislation.
Despite this, children in India continue to
face challenges in attaining these rights,
particularly those related to access to
education, forced labour, and child marriage.
Given that children make up 39% of India’s
1.21 billion population, it is imperative that
the rights of these children are met.
Child Rights: A Gist
They are abandoned. They do not get a
chance to step in a school. They are left to
fend for themselves on the streets.
suffer from many forms of violence. They
do not have access to even primary
healthcare. They are subjected to cruel and
inhumane treatments every day. They are
children – innocent, young and beautiful –
who are deprived of their rights.
In the history of human rights, the rights of
children are the most ratified. The United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC) defines Child Rights as the
minimum entitlements and freedoms that
should be afforded to every citizen below
the age of 18 regardless of race, national
origin, colour, gender, language, religion,
opinions, origin, wealth, birth status,
disability, or other characteristics.
These rights encompass freedom of children
and their civil rights, family environment,
necessary healthcare and welfare, education,
leisure and cultural activities and special
protection measures. The UNCRC outlines
the fundamental human rights that should be
afforded to children in four broad
classifications that suitably cover all civil,
political, social, economic and cultural
rights of every child:
Right to Survival:
• Right to be born
• Right to minimum standards of food,
shelter and clothing
• Right to live with dignity
• Right to health care, to safe drinking water,
nutritious food, a clean and safe
environment, and information to help them
stay healthy
Right to Protection:
• Right to be protected from all sorts of
violence
• Right to be protected from neglect
• Right to be protected from physical and
sexual abuse
• Right to be protected from dangerous
drugs
Right to Participation:
• Right to freedom of opinion
• Right to freedom of expression
• Right to freedom of association
• Right to information
• Right to participate in any decision making
that involves him/her directly or indirectly
Right to Development:
• Right to education
• Right to learn
• Right to relax and play
• Right to all forms of development –
emotional, mental and physical.
Other Legislations/Policies in India
Some of the important legislations and
policies in India to safeguard the rights of
children are:
Indian Penal Code, 1860: The Indian Penal
Code by its various sections specifically
protects children and their rights. Some of
these sections are:
S.83: Nothing is an offence which is done
by a child above seven years of age and
under twelve, who has not attained sufficient
maturity of understanding to judge of the
nature and consequences of his conduct on
that occasion.
S.292 & 293: Selling, distribution,
publishing, public exhibition or circulation
of obscene material such as books,
magazines, drawings, paintings, etc. is
prohibited under Section 292. Whoever
sells, lets to hire, distributes, exhibits or
circulates to any person under the age of
twenty years any such obscene object as is
referred to in Section 292, or offers or
attempts so to do, shall be punished more
severely.
S.305: Abetment of the commission of
suicide of a person below the age of 18
years is punishable under this section.
S.317: Abandonment or exposure of a child
for the purpose of abandonment by any of
the parents or a person having the care of
such child is a punishable offence.
S.361: This section deals with punishing
offenders who kidnap a child (male if below
16 years of age and female if below 18 years
of age).
S.363A: Kidnapping or maiming children
for the purpose of begging has been stated to
be a punishable offence under this section.
S.366A: Inducing of a minor girl under the
age of 18 years to do any act that may force
or seduce her to illicit intercourse with
another person is punishable under S.366A.
S.366B: It is an punishable offence to import
a girl under 21 years of age into India from a
country outside India or from Jammu and
Kashmir intending that she may be forced or
seduced to illicit intercourse with another
person.
S.369: Kidnapping a child under the age of
10 years with the intention to steal from
such child is an offence.
S.372 & 373: Selling, buying or hiring a
person under 18 years of age for the purpose
of prostitution or illicit intercourse with any
person, or for any unlawful or immoral
purpose is a punishable offence.
S.375: A man is said to commit “rape” if has
sexual intercourse with a woman with or
without her consent when she is under the
age of 16 years.
S.376: The section provides for stringent
punishments if:
rape is committed by management or staff of
Remand Home or any other place of custody
established by law or children’s institution,
rape is committed upon a woman under 12
years of age,
gang rape is committed.
S.376C: When the Superintendent or
manager of a remand home or any other
place of custody established under law of
‘children’s institution’ induces or seduces a
woman into sexual intercourse by taking
advantage of his official position, he is
entitled to stringent punishment under this
section.
These sections specifically protect the rights
of children. Other sections applicable to
punish offenders for a crime can also be
invoked to protect the children against such
offenders.
Guardians and Wards Act, 1890: The act
supersedes all the laws regarding
guardianship of a child. It is a universal code
specifically designed for Muslims, Parsis,
Christians and Jews as their personal laws
don’t allow full adoption but only
guardianship.
Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929
(Amended in 1979): It restraints child
marriage until the minimum age, i.e. 21 for
male and 18 for female, has been attained by
them. It applies to the people of all the
religions.
Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act
(Amended in 1986), 1956: This act with
respect to children deals with person(s) who
procure or attempt to procure any child for
prostitution or person(s) who are found with
a child in a brothel (it is presumed child has
been detained for the purpose of
prostitution) and punishes them. It also
provides for the due care of rescued
children.
The Women’s and Children’s (Licensing)
Act, 1956: The Act was enacted with an
object to protect women and children from
exploitation and inhuman activities going on
in institutions. It mandates the institutions
for women and children to get a license from
the licensing authority before establishing or
maintaining the institution.
Probation of Offenders Act, 1958: This act
with the help of the Juvenile Justice Act,
2000 tries to ensure that no person under the
age of 21 years faces imprisonment.
National Policy for Children, 1974: It is
the first written policy for the children in
India. It aims at providing better
enforcement of constitutional rights of the
children along with those granted by the
CRC. Some of the provisions include free
education, comprehensive health and
nutritious plans, etc.
Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act,
1976: The act aims at eradicating the
bonded labour system in India which
exploits the weaker sections of society,
especially children.
Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, 1986: This act regulates
the working conditions for children in
employment and prohibits working of
children in certain kinds of employments.
National Policy on Education, 1986: The
policy is extensive in nature and elementary,
university and adult level education, all fall
under its scope. It tries to remove inequality
by making special provisions for women and
other weaker sections of society such as
Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, etc.
National Policy on Child Labour, 1987:
The act endeavors to eradicate child labour
from Indian society wherever necessary.
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000: This act is one of the
important acts in India for the children in
need of care and protection and also children
in conflict with the law. It requires that the
state provides free legal support to the
juveniles, and proper care and protection is
provided to those in need. It also calls for a
child-friendly approach in adjudication and
disposition of matters involving children.
The Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques
(Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)
Amendment Act, 2000: The main objective
of the Act is to regulate and prevent the pre-
natal sex determination in order to prevent
female feticide.
National Health Policy, 2002: This is the
second National Health Policy, after the first
in 1983. The policy provides for Universal
Immunization Programmes, health care
related education in schools and free regular
health checkups at schools etc.
Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act, 2012: The act aims at
punishing the offenders who are guilty of
sexual offences against children below the
age of 18 years of age. It also lays down
procedures for the trial, such as, the name of
child victim shall not be disclosed,
proceedings of the case are to be conducted
in court with cameras recording the trial,
accused is not to be kept in-front of the child
victim during examination or cross-
examination, etc.
Street Children in India
Majority of us are blessed because when we
return home from offices, colleges and
schools there is a family waiting for us
which takes away our tiredness. But all are
not that fortunate. Many children in India
are deprived off this feeling of family and
home. We celebrate every occasion but
wonder how street children spend their life
and celebrate festivals. They spend their
entire life near bus station, railway station,
markets, on footpaths, streets etc. Though a
well-structured data and number is not
available but it is estimated that India has
more than 4,00,000 street children. 18
million children work on streets and 5-20%
have no connection with their families. Also
India has the largest population of street
children in the world.
Definition of a Street Child by UNICEF,
“…any girl or boy… for whom the street
(in the widest sense of the word, including
unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, etc.) has
become his or her habitual abode and/or
source of livelihood; and who is
inadequately protected, supervised, or
directed by responsible adults”. UNICEF
call street children the most vulnerable
group of children in India.
Mark W. Lusk did a research on street
children and came out with four categories
of street children:
 Children who return to their families
at night after working on the street
 Children working on street but with
dwindling family ties
 Children who work and live with
their families on the street
 Children who work and live with
their families on the street
Most of the street children in India are boys
but that does not mean girls are not
homeless. Homeless girls are subjected to
worse conditions in terms of prostitution and
all than boys. According to UNICEF,
approximately 72% of street children are
aged between 6-12 years and 13% are below
6 years of age.
Why do children leave their homes?
Almost all the studies and surveys on street
children points out that problem of street
children is an urban problem and directly
linked to poverty, family disintegration,
urbanization, inadequacy of resources and
growing population. But family violence is
the major factor that forces these children to
leave their homes and make footpath their
real home. According to Indian study
Subrahmanyarn (Subrahmanyam) & Sondi
in 1990 showed that though the poverty is
the main reason but family discord is the
major problem.
This onset the problem of child labor.
Homeless children end up doing hazardous
jobs in factories, illegally employed in
hotels, canteens, restaurants, construction
sites. Without family they are often
exploited by the employers who abuse them
and pay less wages. Another most common
job of a street child is of rag picking, selling
newspaper and flowers on traffic signals.
They also get engaged in stealing, drug-
peddling, extortion and robberies.
They develop a habit of chewing tobacco,
drugs and smoking. Apart from this lack of
education, poor health, verbal abuse,
psychological trauma, sexual exploitation
are just to name.
Among all the problems the biggest one is
that street children in India are not
recognized officially and they have no proof
of their age and residence. Even the schools
offering free education asks such things
before giving admission.
Condition of girl children living a homeless
life is even pathetic. They become prey of
pimps and then put into prostitution. The
Ministry of Women and Child Development
in 2007 revealed that there are more than 3
million sex workers in India and 35.47%
enter into this world before the age of 18
years.
Juvenile Delinquency in India
Juvenile delinquency is defined as “the
habitual committing of criminal acts or
offences by a young person, especially one
below the age at which ordinary criminal
prosecution is possible.”
These acts are committed mostly by
teenagers, cumulative in today’s civilization,
which is a very concerning matter and
cannot be snubbed. The more concerning
matter is that generations of youth are
believed to be the future of the world. Their
behavior shows how tomorrow’s future will
be.
 juveniles were against women and
such crimes rose 92% all-India
between 2012 and 2014

Statistics:

Juvenile delinquents: It has been already

discussed that, juvenile delinquents are those
offenders who is below the age of majority
and were indulged in a criminal activity.
Mainly there are two main categories of
offenders:
 As per data compiled by the National 1. Repeat Offenders: The category of
Crime Records Bureau, the incidents repeat offenders includes, those
of juvenile crime have constantly Juvenile Delinquents who were
increased between 2010-2014 showing the signs of an anti-social
 There has been 7.2% rise in juvenile behavior during the time of
crimes between 2015-16. Maximum adolescence. These offenders are
number of cases under crime against continuously engaged in the criminal
children were reported in Uttar activity and also after adulthood
Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya having an aggressive behavior. They
Pradesh were also known as “life-course
persistent offenders.
2. Age-specific offender: This type of
behavior begins during the
adolescence. Unlike the repeat
offender the behavior of the age-
specific offender ends before the
minor become adult. Age-specific
offender leave their delinquent
behavior behind when they enter the
adulthood, they have more mental
 Another, alarming fact is that, more health problem, and also have great
than 50% of all crimes committed by financial problem than those adults
 who never had delinquent as
juvenile.
Causes of Juvenile Delinquency: Juvenile
delinquency is fostered by a wide range of
factors which include:
1. Poverty: Poverty is one of the
major reasons for juvenile
delinquency. Juveniles indulge
themselves in delinquent acts in
order to meet and satisfy the
primary wants of their life.
2. Family: It has been widely
accepted that families of
delinquents are characterized by
discords, desertions and other
problems. Such families have been
pointed out as one of the main
causes of delinquency.
3. Neighbourhood: The immediate
environments of a child also affect
the trend he will adopt in
connection with his personality.
Juvenile delinquents largely belong
to areas of poor living conditions.
4. Factors related to Mental
Health: various mental health
factors contribute to juvenile
delinquency. For example:
Conduct disorder.
5. Factors related to Mental
Health: various mental health
factors contribute to juvenile
delinquency. For example:
Conduct disorder.
6. Substance Abuse: there is a strong
relationship between substance
abuse and juvenile delinquency.
Substance abuse is associated with
both violent and income-generating
crimes by youth.
7. Bad Peer Group: Juvenile
delinquency is often caused or
worsened by peer pressure.
Juvenile Justice in India:
Laws Relating to Juvenile
Delinquency
Juvenile under the Indian Penal Code
According to Section 82 up to 7
years of age there is an absolute
irrefutable presumption that the child
is doli incapax. This immunity is
granted to the children below seven
years on the pragmatic approach of
the state that children below seven
years are not capable hence they do
not have the capacity to have the
requisite mens rea. According to
Section 83, if the child does not
attain maturity of mind the burden of
proof lies with the child. To make
them liable they must attain maturity
of mind and this is called
“mischievous discretion” under
English Law. The children of this age
will have to prove that there was no
maturity of mind when the act
committed and therefore no mens
rea. In the case of R. vs. Krishna
where a child of 9 years stole a silver
chain and sold it in 5 annas the lower
courts convicted the buyer and
acquitted the child. The High Court
held that in this case the child is
wrongfully acquitted. In the case of
Harilal Mallick vs. State of Bihar it
was held that not only a proof of a
child being under 12 but also it has
to be proved that the child did not
have enough understanding at that
point of time and was immature. If
no sufficient proof is laid down in
front of the court to prove the
immaturity of the child then it will
be presumed that the child – accused
intended to do what he really did.
Thus, in this case where a child of 12
or so used a sharp sword in killing a
person along with his two brothers
and no evidence either of age or
immaturity or understanding was led
on his behalf, thus held liable.
Juvenile Justice under Juvenile
Justice Act
“Juvenile” or child means a person
who has not completed eighteen
years of age. The Act provides the
uniform age both boys and girls
whereas under the Juvenile Justice
Act, 1986 there was different age for
boys and girls, but this law has been
replaced now. This definition is
wider than the definition provided
under Section 82 and 83 of the
Indian Penal Code. The Act provides
that no juvenile can be sentenced to
death or imprisonment or committed
to prison in default of payment or in
default of furnishing security. The
Act stipulates that the Juvenile
should be sent home advice or
admonition, released on probation of
good conduct and placed under the
care of parent or guardian or sent to a
special home.
Issues of Age Determination
Age determination has been a tricky
and controversial issue in Juvenile
Justice. A number of cases have been
decided by the court in this regard. In
the context of juvenile legislation in
India, a juvenile is a person who has
not completed eighteen years of age.
Only children below seven to twelve
years of age who are sufficiently
mature to understand the
repercussions if their act and
children between twelve to eighteen
years of age can be tried under
Juvenile Justice Act as children
below seven years of age have been
granted blanket immunity, as
mentioned above, by the Indian
Penal Code. The objective is not to
treat such children as adults for their
criminal behavior but to reform and
rehabilitate them. The issue of age
determination is controversial
because there is no clarity on the
point. Even in the case of Indian
Penal Code, Section 82 & 83 talk
about children below and above
seven years of age but it is silent
about seven-year-old children. Who
is to determine the age bracket they
fall in? Section 49 (1) of the Juvenile
Justice Act, 2000 confers the power
on competent authority to determine
whether the person brought it is a
juvenile, if he/she appears to be so.
But the procedure to determine
juvenility of a person cannot br
relied on. The two ways to determine
age of the accused are documentary
evidence and medical evidence. In
Jaya Mala vs. Home Secretary,
Government of J&K, the apex court
held that the age as ascertained by
medical examination is not
conclusive proof of age. It is mere
opinion of the doctor and a margin of
2 years could be on either side. In
another high-profile case, Bhoop
Ram vs. State of U.P., the court
held that in case of conflict between
documentary evidence and medical
report, the documentary evidence
will be considered to be correct. This
leads one to the conclusion that all
that it needs to establish and
convince court that a criminal is a
juvenile is documentary proof. Now
documentary proof is one of the
easiest thing to obtain in our country
whether it is to get a license one is
legally not entitled to or for
furnishing age proof in the country.
In such a case, even if we were to
turn to medical examination, which
is held not to be hundred percent
conclusive proof by even medicos.
By the Allahbad High Court’s own
admission, a doctor is not always
truthful. In Smt. Kamlesh and anr.
vs. State of U.P. the court
maintained that a professional
witness is prone to side with a party
that engages his/her services. Thus, a
doctor is not always truthful. A part
from the conclusive determination of
age, the question of the date when
age has to be taken into account has
also been a matter of controversy. In
Arnit Das vs. State of Bihar,
overruled held that the date of
commission of offence is irrelevant
and it is the date of bringing the
accused in the court that has to be
taken into account. This was again
corrected in Pratap Singh vs. State
of Jharkhand where the court held
that, “the reckoning date for the
determination of the age of the
juvenile is the date of an offence and
not the date when he is produced
before the authority or in the court.”
International Instruments and
Conventions dealing with Juvenile
Justice:
1. UN Standard Minimum Rules for the
Administration of Juvenile Justice
(Beijing Rules)
2. UN Guidelines for the Prevention of
Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh
Guidelines)
3. UN Rules for the Protection of
Juvenile Deprived of their Liberty
(Havana Conventions)
4. Guidelines for the Action on
Children in Criminal Juvenile
System (Vienna Guidelines)
Issues and Challenges with Juvenile
Justice in India:
1. Term of sentence: There is no
logical or scientific reason which
shows that total and complete
rehabilitation can be achieved by a
child in conflict with the law within
a maximum period of three years.
2. Post completion of term and
aftercare: Absolute lack of
implementation of the provisions of
the JJ Act after a juvenile completes
his sentence is a major concern.
India's massive population makes it
impossible to track and ensure that a
juvenile once released continues with
his therapy or even reports regularly
to his parole officer.
3. Juveniles in Adult jails: National
Commission for Protection of Child
Rights (NCPCR), a number of
probable juveniles are found in adult
jails. Further, the police subvert the
guidelines of JJ Act and lodge
juveniles into adult jails.
4. Issues with juvenile homes:
a) Lack of trained staff and
financial corruption is a
major concern in juvenile
homes across India
 b) In major of the homes, there
is complete lack of vocational
training, counselling and
individual care plans.
c) A 2013 report by the Asian
Centre for Human Rights
(ACHR), “India’s Hell Holes:
Child Sexual Assault in
Juvenile Justice Homes”
stated that inmates are
subjected to sexual assault
and exploitation, torture and
ill-treatment, apart from
being forced to live in
inhuman conditions.
Major Case Laws related to Juvenile’s
1. Ryan Augustine Pinto vs State Of
Haryana And Anr: The class XI
student apprehended by CBI in
connection with murder of seven-
year-old will be treated as an adult
and will face trial at sessions’ court.
Juvenile who was 16.5 years of age
at the time of crime will remain at
correction home till he attains the
age of 21. Thereafter he will be
shifted to jail and may face
imprisonment up to 10-14 years in
case of conviction.
2. Sampurna Behrua vs UoI1: The
PIL, which was filed by HRLN on
the behalf of Sampurna Behrua, a
social activist, had been going on for
the past 12 years since 2005. The
writ petition drew attention to the
failure of the state governments to
implement the provisions of the Act
and the truly horrific conditions in
Homes for children across the
country. It noted, for instance, that
the special juvenile home for boys at
1 Writ petition (civil) no. 473 of 2005
Hoshiyarpur and observation home
for boys at Faridkot in Punjab were
analogous to prisons, with uniformed
and armed policemen standing
guard. In an observation home in
Beed in Maharashtra, the petition
said, children were kept confined to
a cell and were only allowed to
relieve themselves in the cell in a
plastic bottle. In homes in
Mujaffarpur and Darbhanga in Bihar,
the children were forced to cook
their own food and clean their
utensils since no cook had been
appointed and the children had no
option but to starve if they did not
cook. These homes also had only one
toilet with snakes freely wandering
around. Further, the Mujaffarpur
home did not have regular electricity.
In its lengthy judgement, the court
hoped that the MWCD in the central
and state governments would ensure
that the National Commission for
Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)
and the State Commission for
Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR)
performed optimally. It also said that
the constitution of State Child
Protection Society and District Child
Protection Units needed to include
the police and members of civil
societies. The court also urged the
the central and state governments to
provide all necessary hardware and
software to them, and also directed
states to regularly update their
information on the online Central
Level Monitoring System once every
quarter.
3. Dr. Subramanian Swamy & Ors.
Vs. Raju & Anr. 20142: The Apex
2 SLP (Crl.) No.1953 of 2013
 Court upheld the treating of all
persons “under 18 as a separate
category for the purposes of
differential treatment so far as
commission of offences are
concerned” under the Juvenile
Justice Act 2000.
4. Deoki Nandan Dayma v. State of
Uttar Pradesh3: The court held that
entry in the register of school
mentioning the date of birth of
student is admissible evidence in
determining the age of juvenile or to
show that whether the accused is
juvenile or child.
5. Arnit Das v. State of Bihar 4: The
Supreme Court held that date to
decide in claim of juvenility should
be the date on which the accused is
brought before the competent
authority.
Juvenile Justice in U.S.A.:
The United States Supreme Court’s
involvement in the area of Juvenile Justice
greatly altered both the process utilized and
the protections offered to juveniles within
the system. Procedure in judicial proceeding
has traditionally been viewed as especially
important in the US. Justice Frankfurter
says, “The history of American freedom is,
in no small measure, the history of
procedure. The court’s seminal opinion in
Re Gault the Juvenile in that case was
found to be delinquent after two hearings.
He was sent to reformatory period of six
years.
a. Age Determination: In the US the age
of majority is set by individual States,
minor usually refers to someone who
3 1997 i0 SCC 525
4 AIR 2000 SC 748
is below the age of 18, but in certain
areas someone under the age of 21.
The term like “infant”, “child”,
“adolescent”, “teen”, “young person”
are also used, although there are some
jurisdiction having legal distinction
between these terms. The child and
Youth Welfare Code, Presidential
Decree No. 603 defines youth offender
as “one who is over 9 years of age but
less than 21 years of age at the time of
the commission of the offence.”
b. Causes of Juvenile Delinquency:
There are some penologists who
indicate that socio-economic
conditions combined with peer
influence can be an enormous factor in
the development of delinquent
behavior. Some of the major causes of
Juvenile Delinquency in USA are
listed
i. Peer Influence
ii. Family Influence
iii. Self-Esteem as a factor in delinquent
behavior
iv. Race as factor in delinquent behavior
v. Trauma and Delinquency
Juvenile Justice in U.K.:
The English Criminal Justice Administration
while dealing with the problem of Juvenile
Delinquency, preferred to deal with outside
the framework of criminal law. The problem
of Juvenile Delinquency attracted the
nationwide attention, many reformists
believe that delinquency among the
adolescents is a transient phase and it will be
disappeared as they grow older, hence they
need not to be dealt differently.
a) Age Factor: According to Section
16 “a child under the age of 10 years
should not be arrested”, if a juvenile
is arrested and later he turns out to be
 below the age of 10 years of age he
should be released immediately. A
child may be kept in the custody of
Police only for 72 hours and as soon
as possible the constable concerned
should make arrangement for the
investigations to take place. If a
juvenile is charged and he is detained
he must be bought in front of the
magistrate’s court in accordance with
the provisions of Section 46(1). If a
Juvenile is arrested under the warrant
should not be released to Schedule 6,
Para 19 (b) of the Police and
Criminal Evidence Act.
b) Reasons for Juvenile Committing
Crimes: Over the study of the years
criminologists put forth a wide range
of motives for what cause crime.
People who deal with juvenile
offenders have cited following
conditions
i. Poverty
ii. Family Factor
iii. Environment
iv. Media Influence
v. Decline Social Morality.
Suggestions to improve Juvenile’s
Conditions:
1. Proper Observation Homes and
Facilities for Juvenile Offenders:
Since observation homes are like
transit points, they offer no
educational or vocational activities
for these juvenile offenders, as one
presumes that the kids will stay there
for a short while. But the reality is
otherwise. Even if it was different,
not having any activity, even for a
few days, with energetic children is a
sure recipe for disaster.
2. Child guidance clinics should be
established in order to give
appropriate treatment to the
disturbed and mal-adjusted children.
3. Families should be educated to
realize the importance of giving
proper attention to the needs of their
young children. Investments in
strengthening parenting skills and
support can go can serve as
preventive measures.
4. Proper assistance to under-privileged
children should be given to build in
them good character and law-abiding
attitude.
5. Social environment -slum areas,
busy market places, gambling
centers, etc., should be improved
6. The general economic standards of
the people must be increased to
prevent children from becoming-
delinquent due to economic
exigencies
7. Measures should be taken to improve
conditions of juvenile homes,
correctional homes through regular
inspection, adequate funds and
imparting training to staff.
8. The aftercare system should be
strengthened to ensure that a juvenile
once released continues with his
therapy and is effectively
rehabilitated in the society.