Law and You> Criminal Laws > Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 > Features of Juvenile Justice Act

The involvement of the accused in such a heinous crime of rape forced the Indian Legislation to introduce a new law and thus, the Indian Parliament came up with a new law which is known as “ Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015. It came into force on 15 January 2016. The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 replaced the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children), 2000, so that juveniles in conflict with the law, involved in Heinous Offences, can be tried as adults. In tis article we shall discuss the features of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015

The Basis of Enactment of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015:

Constitutional Provisions:

• Clause (3) of Article 15 of the Constitution states that nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.
• Clause (e) of Article 39 of the Constitution states that the health and strength of workers, men and women and the tender age of children are not abused and that the citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength.
• Clause (f) of Article 39 of the Constitution states that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.
• Article 45 of the Constitution states that the State shall endeavor to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years.
• Article 47 of the Constitution states that the State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health among its primary duties and, in particular, the State shall endeavor to bring about prohibition of the consumption, except for medicinal purposes, of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.

International Conventions:

The Convention on the Rights of the Child of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the 20th November 1989 has prescribed a set of standards to be adhered to by all State parties in securing the best interests of the child. The Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasizes the social reintegration of child victims, to the extent possible, without resorting to judicial proceedings. This convention was ratified by India on the 11th of December, 1992.

Scheme of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015:

There are 10 Chapter and 112 Sections in the Act

• Chapter – I: Preliminary (Sections 1 – 2)
• Chapter II: General Principles of Care and Protection of Children(Section 3)
• Chapter – III: Juvenile Justice Board (Sections 4 – 9)
• Chapter IV: Procedure in Relation to Children in Conflict with the Law (Sections 10 – 26)
• Chapter V: Child Welfare Committee (Sections 27 – 30)
• Chapter VI: Procedure in Relation to Children in Need of Care and Protection (Sections 31 – 38)
• Chapter VII: Rehabilitation and Social Re-integration (Sections 39 – 55)
• Chapter VIII: Adoption (Sections 56 – 73)
• Chapter IX: Other Offences Against Children (Sections 74 – 89)
• Chapter – X: Miscellaneous (Sections 90 – 112)

Features of The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015:

Features Inherited from the 2000 Act:

The 2015 Act is a re-enactment of the 2000 Act, and it retains several essential features of the earlier Acts.

• There is a complete separation between children in need of care and protection and the juveniles in conflict with the law.
• The juvenile/child has been defined as anyone who has not completed the age of 18 years.
• An attempt is made at decriminalizing the juvenile in conflict with the law through the introduction of the Juvenile Justice Board in place of the Juvenile Court.
• There is a provision for introducing a juvenile police unit and designation of at least one police officer in each station as a child-friendly officer.
• It expanded the definition of child in need of care and protection with additional categories like victims of armed conflict, civil commotion, or natural calamity.
• There is an exclusion of certain other categories like a child found begging, children who live in a brothel, and uncontrollable children.
• The child may be produced before the Committee by the police officer, public servants, Childline a registered voluntary organization, social worker, or public-spirited citizen.
• The focus of the new law is the restoration of the child which means restoration to the parents, adopted parents, and foster parents.
• The children’s home or the state-run institutions for orphans shall be recognized as adoption agencies for security and placement of children.
• The children’s home envisaged as a temporary stay during which schemes for adoption, foster care, sponsorship, and aftercare to be worked out.

Additional New Features of the Act:

the 2015 Act shows the following additional features:

• Section3 of the Act spells out certain general principles of care and protection which are to be followed in its implementation.
• Section 2 of the Act is expanded with more definitions.
• The nomenclature used in the Act is further refined. the word ‘arrest’ is replaced by apprehension. The word ‘crime’ is replaced by ‘offence’, etc.
• Under the Act, the offences committed by a juvenile are categorized into three classes

1. Petty Offences: It includes the offences for which maximum punishment under the Indian Penal Code or any other law is imprisonment up to three years.
2. Serious Offences: It includes the offences for which punishment under the Indian Penal Code or any other law is imprisonment between three to seven years.
3. Heinous Offences: It includes the offences for which minimum punishment under the Indian Penal Code or any other law is imprisonment of seven years or more.

• All the persons below the age of eighteen years were put in one class under the 2000 Act irrespective of the offence. While under the 2015 Act children in conflict with the law are put under two classes or groups

1. Those below 18 years of age in case of petty or serious offences and those below 16 years of age in case of heinous offences. This group is to be dealt with by the Juvenile Justice Board constituted under this Act.
2. Those who have completed 16 years of age but are below 18 in case of heinous offences and such offenders can be treated as adults. They are to be kept in the place of safety until the age of 21 and thereafter may be sent to an adult jail to complete remainder of the sentence.

• There is a whole chapter IX which is devoted to offences against children. Many new offences are added to this chapter.
• There was a brief and sketchy provision relating to adoption in the 2000 Act. In the 2015 Act, Chapter VIII is completely devoted to the subject of adoption, in which elaborate provisions for adoption are made.
• There is a provision for creating public awareness on the provisions of the Act and also for monitoring implementation of the Act.

Applicability of the Act:

Section 1(4) of the Act deals with the applicability of the Act, which reads as follows:

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the provisions of this Act shall apply to all matters concerning children in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law, including —

(i) apprehension, detention, prosecution, penalty or imprisonment, rehabilitation and social re-integration of children in conflict with law;

(ii) procedures and decisions or orders relating to rehabilitation, adoption, re-integration, and restoration of children in need of care and protection.

Thus Juvenile Justice Act has overriding effect on all other laws.

Case Laws:

In Kallu v. State of Haryana, AIR 2012 SC 3212 case, the Court observed that the Juvenile Justice Act is intended to protect children from the rigours of trial by a Criminal Court.

In Ajit Singh v. Union of India, 2004 Cri LJ 3994 Del case, an offence was committed by a juvenile recruited in Army. The applicability of the Juvenile Justice Act was held valid for the offence committed by the juvenile overriding the Army Act.

For More Articles on Juvenile Justice Act Click Here

For More Articles on Different Acts, Click Here