The Legal Aid Society of Campus Law Centre in collaboration with Students for Human Rights organized a workshop on Juvenile Delinquency- Law and Practise in India. The speakers on the occasion were Anant Asthana and Swetlana Correya from Human Rights Law Network and Rohan Alva from the Juvenile Justice Board. Ms. Smriti Minocha and Renuka Srinivasan from HRLN had also come for the workshop.
Prof. JL Kaul gave the welcome speech wherein he highlighted the importance of legal aid and said that it was an important construct of a welfare state. He further emphasized that the future of Indian Legal system depends largely on legal aid. Discussing the issue of Juvenile Delinquency in India and its pervasiveness throughout the nation, he said that it was an immensely important issue which needs to be nipped in the bud, if the dream for a better, just India is to be realized. He pointed out that policy makers should keep in mind the issue of juvenile delinquency and that deviant behavior of children needs to be a critical component for the policies being made by the government. Acknowledging the importance of juvenile justice act Prof. Kaul said that the Juvenile Justice Act had indeed embarked on a long and arduous journey.
Mr. Anant Asthana then took gave a brief overview of the Juvenile Justice Act and also enlightened us about the meaningful work done by HRLN. HRLN is a not for profit organization which was first started in 1989 by Colin Gonsalves and it was meant to train new generation of lawyers who were much more public spirited. HRLN brings out various books, journals, know your right manuals, reports on various human rights issues etc. It had also received the Mother Teresa Award for the exemplary work done by it in a selfless and devoted manner. When HRLN was set up there was no popular culture of pro bono litigation. Litigation was the privilege of the richer, well to do sections. HRLN, as an initiative was indeed a revolutionary concept and did wonders for legal aid.
Mr. Asthana further discussed the problem of juvenile delinquency. He said that around 30%- 40% of the entire population of India was less than 18 years of age. As per the statistics mentioned in the Right to Food case, 75% of the people didn’t receive adequate nutrition, thereby making India the hunger capital of the world. He said that it was a shame that food was a mere entitlement, not a right. What could have been a bigger disgrace for a country, than this? India which boasts of itself being one of the fastest developing economies in the world is not able to cater to the basic nutritional needs of its citizens. Correlating hunger with juvenile delinquency, Mr. Asthana said that the cost of having undernourished children might turn out to be very high as these children might indulge in nefarious, anti- social, criminal activities later on. The obnoxious environment in which millions of children grow up can push them into the world of crime. These children grow up with all kinds of negative experiences and the proper value system is not instilled in them. He opined that the juvenile justice system is based on understanding societies. Acknowledging that the Juvenile justice Act was the most revolutionary, socially needed enactment, he expressed doubts regarding its efficacy. He said that like all other laws, the major threat to the enactment came from improper, weak implementation. Mr. Asthana highlighted the weaknesses of the implementation mechanism and brought forth the bitter realities by narrating the story of a young boy who had been arrested for stealing food. When this boy was later produced before the magistrate, his mother expressed her predicament saying that her son had started taking drugs during his stay at the juvenile shelters/ homes. He said that if the current condition of these homes was not improved, many young lives would be ruined and no one but the government would be to blame.
Mr. Asthana also gave a brief historical background of juvenile justice laws. In 1850, the Apprentice Act was passed with the objective of protecting the young persons who take up employment under someone to learn the trade. Later on in 1897, the Reformatory Schools Act was passed which had a slight semblance of the current enactment. Also discussing international developments, Mr. Asthana said that the governement’s failure to take up the issue of juvenile delinquency led to a social chaos. He said that the economic divide became so deep that younger generation started indulging in all sorts of nefarious activities to satisfy their demands. The situation became so grave that the private businessmen had to keep their private armies to protect themselves from the onslaught of the disgruntled youth. Mr. Asthan warned that if Indian government wants to ward off such a threat, stringent enforcement mechanisms should be put in place. Steps need to be taken to ensure that a mockery of juvenile justice isn’t made. He said that the Juvenile Justice boards be setup in all states without any default and in case there is a default proper action be taken against the defaulting states. Lack of political will to ensure proper implementation of this Act, will turn this problem of Juvenile delinquency into an incurable disease (“Nassor”). Mr. Asthan said that more child friendly measures/ methods / procedures needs to be adopted and a lesser accusatory attitude be adopted towards the “juveniles in conflict with law” (as per the new Act). He further said that locking up juvenile delinquents is not the solution to this social malaise. Referring to the 1st jail Committee report, he said that jailing served no purpose, but retribution. He said that jurisprudence in the civilized world has gone far ahead of retribution. The focus is more on deterrence and reformation these days. What is needed is that proper value system be ingrained and the children be given equal, fair opportunities and good conditions of living. Talking about the Ramdeo Chauhan case, he said that it was a shame that India being a signatory to the Convention on Rights of Child has done so little to realize the stated goals of that Convention. He discussed the chequered history of the case and said that law’s manipulation needs to be stopped and the rights of the child be protected.
On the concluding note, Mr. Asthana said that the government agencies and law enforcement agencies need to ensure that a travesty of justice is not done and the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act are enforced in full force and spirit.
Harshita Vatsayan
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