General Studies (Paper - 2) : Model Question & Answers

Question: Do you think the new Juvenile Law Bill in India is a departure from its commitment on Child Rights? Substantiate your answer with reasons.

Answer: Amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act allow the trial of children between 16-18 years as adults if they are involved in heinous crimes such as murder and rape. It involves the constitution of Juvenile Justice Board to assess whether the crime has been committed as a child or an adult and this assessment guides the trial process.

In this context, the following points needs to be considered:

1) The adolescent’s crime behaviour majorly flows from their risk assessment. They underestimate the risk and are susceptible to negative influences and environmental influences. It predisposes them to poor decision making. Here, Children’s rights consider the vulnerable character of the child and the necessity to protect them. It means to grant a particular assistance to them, and to give a protection necessary to their age and to their degree of maturity.

2) On the empirical side, there is ample evidence that punitive laws do not improve public safety or deter juvenile crime. So, better we shall deal with the causes of Juvenile crime like poverty, pornography, broken families, failure of child protection system etc. The Judicial waiver system did not provide for a positive outcome in USA and UK in terms of juvenile crime rate, public safety. Improving the conditions of schooling and providing quality education, creating an identity are essential parts of the child rights.

3) The law is also against the UN convention on the rights of the child which treats everyone as a child, if he/she is less than 18 years. Along with this, child rights emphasize on criminal laws appropriate for the age and development of the child. The children thus have the right to live and to develop suitably physically and intellectually. Finally, the objective of punishment is reformation and not retribution. It applies much stronger in the cases related to Juvenile Justice.