16-yr-old offenders no more minors as new JJ Act comes into force

Juvenile offenders aged 16 to 18 years can now be tried as adults in cases of heinous crimes like rape and murder as the new Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, came into force on Friday. 

After a prolonged political parlay, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015, was passed by the Lok Sabha on May 7, 2015. When pressure built from all quarters after the juvenile accused in the horrific December 16, 2012, Nirbhaya gangrape case was released, the Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on December 22. The revised Bill received the President’s assent on December 31.  

The JJ Act, 2015 provides for strict provisions for both children in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law. 

One of the significant provisions of the new law includes change in nomenclature from ‘juvenile’ to ‘child’ or ‘child in conflict with law’ across the Act. This had been done to remove the negative connotation associated with the word “juvenile”. 

Also, there has been an inclusion of several new definitions such as orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children, with a renewed focus on petty, serious and heinous offences committed by children.

The new Act clearly defines the functions and responsibilities of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), with an aim to revamp the JJB by setting up timelines for inquiry to be conducted by the board.

There are also special provisions for heinous offences committed by minors aged above 16. A new chapter on adoption to streamline the adoption of an orphan, abandoned and surrendered child is a key feature of the Act. The existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is given the status of a statutory body so that it can perform its function in a more effective way. Several rehabilitation and social reintegration measures have been provided for children in conflict with law and those in need of care and protection. New offences committed against children and mandatory registration of Child Care Institutions is mentioned as one of the key provisions.

Under Section 15, special provisions have been listed to tackle minors aged 16-18 years committing heinous offences. The JJB is given the option to transfer cases of heinous offences committed by such minors to a children’s court (Court of Session) after conducting a preliminary assessment.  The provisions provide for placing a child offender in a ‘place of safety’ both during and after trial till s/he attains the age of 21, after which an evaluation of the child shall be conducted by the children’s court.

After the evaluation, the child is either released on probation and if s/he is not reformed, s/he will be sent to a jail for the remaining term. 

Under institutional care, children are provided with various services such as education, health, nutrition, de-addiction, treatment of diseases, vocational training, skill development, life skill education, counselling, etc, to help them lead a constructive role in society. Several new offences committed against children, which are so far not adequately covered under any other law, are also included in the Act. These include – sale and procurement of children for any purpose, including illegal adoption, corporal punishment in child care institutions, use of child by militant groups, etc.