Also: Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, JJ Act, children in conflict with law
Definition
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which deals with children in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection, aiming at rehabilitation rather than punishment, and which allows 16–18-year-olds accused of heinous offences to be tried as adults after assessment.
India's approach to child offenders evolved from colonial reformatory laws, such as the Apprentices Act of 1850 and the Reformatory Schools Act of 1897, to state children's acts and the Central Children Act of 1960. The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 created a uniform national framework, followed by the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, which aligned Indian law with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in 1992, and set 18 as the age of a juvenile for both boys and girls.
The December 2012 gang rape in Delhi, in which one of the accused was a few months short of 18 and received the maximum three years in a special home, led to public demands for tougher treatment of older juveniles. The Justice Verma Committee advised against lowering the juvenile age, but Parliament passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. It kept 18 as the age of a child but allowed children aged 16 to 18 accused of heinous offences to be tried as adults after a preliminary assessment of their mental and physical capacity.
Create a free account to read 5 full pages a month, or upgrade for unlimited access. The definition above, the A–Z index and the pop-up definitions in lessons stay free.
