Juvenile delinquency on rise, is 2015 Act effective, asks Supreme Court

Tribune News Service

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, November 16

Expressing concern over the rise in juvenile delinquency in India, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the government should examine if the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, had proved to be effective.

“Before we close this matter, we would like to observe that the rising rate of juvenile delinquency in India is a matter of concern and requires immediate attention,” said a Bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice JB Pardiwala — which ordered the last accused in the case of gangrape and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua in January 2018 to be tried as an adult.

Questions lenient approach

The leniency with which the juveniles are dealt with in the name of the goal of reformation is making them more and more emboldened in indulging in such heinous crimes. —SC bench

“There is a school of thought existing in our country that firmly believes that howsoever heinous the crime may be, be it single rape, gangrape, drug peddling or murder, if the accused is a juvenile, he should be dealt with keeping in mind only one thing, i.e., the goal of reformation. The school of thought we are talking about believes that the goal of reformation is ideal,” the Bench said.

Writing the verdict for the Bench, Justice Pardiwala said, “The manner, in which brutal and heinous crimes have been committed over a period of time by juveniles and still continue to be committed, makes us wonder whether the 2015 Act has sub-served its object. “We have started gathering an impression that the leniency with which the juveniles are dealt with in the name of the goal of reformation is making them more and more emboldened in indulging in such heinous crimes,” it said.

However, it said, “it is for the government to consider whether its enactment of 2015 has proved to be effective or something still needs to be done in the matter before it is too late in the day”.

The 2015 Act aims to consolidate the law relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection by catering to their basic needs through proper care, protection, development, treatment, social reintegration, by adopting a child-friendly approach in the adjudication and disposal of matters in the best interest of children.

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