The Juvenile System in Indiarequires recourse to history. During the British Administration in India Juveniles were treated by their families and society in general prior to the British rule in India. The treatment of juveniles in institutions was not visible. As a result, Juvenile Justice in India and corrective measures were the direct result. The Juvenile Justice was a consequence to the western Philosophy and the development of Prison reforms. The Culture of Crimes by a person is as old as a society while the youth often come in conflict with the law and indulged in many crimes. The problems of a Juvenile were not considered as a separate system for a reason being that the children were been thrown out without the trial. They were locked in the jail with the other criminals. History reveals that in the 19th Century the Penologists prescribed equal punishment for both adults and Juveniles and the Juveniles were hanged, transported, and imprisoned like the other criminals. In 1833 reports suggest that the dead sentence was been given to a nine year old for stealing goods. The Common Practises for Petty Offences like Hanging, Torture, and Whipping were the Punishments which were been made before the public as a matter of deterrence.
The Correctional measures, rather than criminal ones, have been proposed by several criminologists. In 1947, India gained independence. It becomes a signatory to the United Nations, India has adopted international standards. India is defined by its constitution. The Constitution makes of India provided separate treatment for the children and women. The attempt is made in this article and to investigate India’s handling of juveniles as a particular case in light of the country’s constitutional philosophy and international treaties. The Juvenile Justice System is a branch of the criminal justice system that administers justice to minors. This is a system in place for young people who aren’t old enough to be held accountable for their actions. It is used to treat juvenile delinquency as a corrective measure. The term ‘juvenile’ comes from the etymological term ‘juvenile,’ which refers to a young person or any young person who retains the characteristics and nature of a kid. Delinquency is defined as “failure to follow societal norms or omissions of duty, involvement in criminal activity, or any other wrongdoing. Juvenile delinquency’ is doing of some act against society by young persons. The terms ‘Juvenile Justice’ means what is just, fair and equitable to the child or young persons in shaping their personality in the society. ‘Juvenile Justice System’ means a process to deal with the problem concerned with children and society. The main purpose of Juvenile justice is to insulate children by resorting to appropriate treatment and create an environment to develop a positive human personality. Juvenile Justice is socio-legal measure to create an atmosphere for the treatment of delinquent juveniles. All most all countries of the civilized world have adopted Juvenile Justice Law to treat the young offender in the most equitable manner, so that they can lead a peaceful moral and democratic life. Juvenile Justice is applicable to the persons; those are under 18 years of age.
Today after Nirbhaya many people are aware that a separate Justice System exists for Juveniles. Many people are not yet aware how Juvenile Justice System works. After the incidence people turned sentimental and expressed their hostile attitude towards the decision of court. They demanded death sentence for the child involved in such a case. There was up roaring in parliament and the new law (Juvenile Justice Care and protection of children 2015) came into existence in India. It is a comprehensive provision for children alleged and found to be in conflict with the law. It also deals with children in need of care and protection. This law is enacted taking into consideration of conventions of Rights of the child and other related international instruments. The government of India acceded the convention of Rights of the Child (CRC) on 11 Dec 1992. The Constitution of India empowers and cast duty on the state to ensure that their minimum requirement are met and their basic human rights are fully protected. The state intended to upkeep the principle adopted in the Constitution. The Juvenile Justice System developed throughout the world with a conception that, children are not mature like adult. They failed to understand the nature and consequence of their acts. This idea is based on the principle that the child do not have capacity to form criminal intention. Therefore, a child cannot be made liable for acts which are illegal. An adult is commonly understood to mean a person who has reached maturity of mind. In the psychological perception, a person is mature who possesses certain skills that are the product of both cognitive development and the nature of the person’s interactions with his or her environment.
Juvenile Justice Act 2015 under lying following principles:-
Juvenile Justice Act 2000 is replaced by Juvenile Justice Act 2015, with a view to update in accordance with the International conventions and present social development. The New Act under lying following basic principles:-
1 Presumption of innocence.
2. Principles of dignity and worth.
3. Principles of participation with due regard to maturity.
4. Principles of best interest of the child.
5. Principles of family responsibility to take care.
6. Principles of ensuring safety without my abuse of the child.
7. Positive measures for wellbeing and development of child.
8. Principles of non-accusatory or non-stigmatizing semantics.
9. Principles of non-waiver of rights.
10. Principles of equality and non-discrimination.
11. Principles of right to privacy and confidentiality
12. Principles of institutionalization should be last resort.
13. Principles of Repatriation and restoration.
14. Principles of fresh start-erasing of past records.
15. Principles of diversion without resorting to Judicial Proceedings
16. Principles of natural justice.