Offence Against Child: Unit - I Llb-Ii, Sem

Offence Against Child
UNIT –I
LLB-II, SEM
JUVENILE CRIMES IN INDIA AND THE LAW
 Children are considered to be gifts from God

and are greatest personal as well as national
assets. We as individuals, parents, guardians
and society as a whole have a duty that
children should be allowed and provided
opportunity to grow up in a healthy socio-
cultural environment so that they could
become responsible citizens, physically fit,
mentally alert and morally healthy.
.
 It is the duty of the State to provide equal

opportunities for development to all children
during the period of their growth which would
reduce inequality and ensure social justice.
 Children are expected to be obedient, respectful
and have virtues and good quality in them.

However, due to various reasons certain
percentage of children do not follow settled social
and legal command.
 Such children are most often than not get involved
in criminal behaviour which is known as juvenile

delinquency or juvenile crime.
.
Crime by juveniles is a harsh reality in India.

In recent times juveniles were found to be
involved in most heinous of the crimes such
as murder and gang rape. It’s a disturbing
trend and society as a whole is painful by
such criminal acts by children.
 Many experts believe that the present law is
inadequate to deal with the situation and we

need changes in it so that for heinous crimes
juveniles may also be tried and punished as
adults.
WHO IS A JUVENILE?
 Juvenile means a person who is very young,

teenager, adolescent or underage.
 In other words, juvenile means children who
have not yet reached the age of adults in the

sense that they are still childish or immature.
Sometimes the term “child” is also
interchangeably used for the term “juvenile”.
Legally speaking
A juvenile can be defined as a child who has
not attained a certain age at which he can be
held liable for his criminal acts like an adult
person under the law of the country.
 Juvenile is a child who is assumed to have
committed certain acts or omissions which

are in violation of any law and are declared to
be an offence.
In terms of law
A juvenile is a person who has not attained
the age of eighteen years.
 It has a legal significance. As per the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000,

 a juvenile shall not be treated as an adult
even if he/she is involved in any criminal acts

for the purpose of trial and punishment in the
court of law.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A JUVENILE AND A MINOR
Though in common language we use both the

terms interchangeably but ‘juvenile’ and
‘minor’ in legal terms are used in different
context.
 The term juvenile is used with reference to a
young criminal offender and

 the term minor relates to legal capacity or
majority of a person.
Juvenile Crimes in India

Petty crimes in general and heinous crimes in

particular are being committed regularly in India by
children.
 Crimes such as theft, burglary, snatching which are
not so serious in nature or crimes such as robbery,

dacoity, murder and rape etc which are relatively
serious are on the rise in whole of the country.
 And the unfortunate thing is that all types of these
crimes are also being committed by children below

the age of 18 years.
Statistics
The statistics also show the number of
juveniles found to be in conflict with law
under the IPC
 13.6% and 2.5% respectively in 2013, as
compared with 2012.

..
 The recent inhuman gang rape of a young girl

on December 16, 2013, shocked the
collective conscience of the nation. The
brutality with which the heinous crime was
committed was most shocking; it was later
found out that among five accused, one was
minor and he was the most barbaric one.
REASONS FOR JUVENILE CRIMES
 No one is a born criminal.
 Circumstances make him so. Socio-cultural

environment, both inside and outside of
home, plays significant role in shaping one’s
life and overall personality.
.
 Some of the most common causes which are

associated with juvenile crimes are:
 Poverty;
 Drug Abuse;
 Anti-social Peer Group;
 Easy availability of firearms;
 Abusive parents;
 Single-parent child;
 Nuclear Family;
 Family Violence;
 Child sexual abuse and Role of Media.
In India
 it is Poverty and the effect of media,
especially the social-media which make
juveniles more inclined towards criminal
activities.
 Poverty is one of the biggest causes which
force a child to get involved in criminal acts.

Also, role played by social media today which
is having a more negative than positive
imprints on young minds.
 d. "child in need of care and protection" means a child -
 i. who is found without any home or settled place or abode and without any ostensible
means of subsistence,
 ia. who is found begging, or who is either a street child or a working child,[
 ii. who resides with a person (whether a guardian of the child or not) and such person-
 a. has threatened to kill or injure the child and there is a reasonable likelihood of the threat being
carried out, or
 b. has killed, abused or neglected some other child or children and there is a reasonable likelihood
of the child in question being killed, abused or neglected by that person.

 iii. who is mentally or physically challenged or ill children or children suffering from
terminal diseases or incurable diseases having no one to support or look after,

 iv. who has a parent or guardian and such parent or guardian is unfit or incapacitated to
exercise control over the child,

 v. who does not have parent and no one is willing to take care of or whose parents have
abandoned or surrendered him or who is missing and run away child and whose parents cannot be
found after reasonable inquiry,
 vi. who is being or is likely to be grossly abused, tortured or exploited for the purpose of
sexual abuse or illegal acts,

 vii. who is found vulnerable and is likely to be inducted into drug abuse or trafficking,
 viii. who is being or is likely to be abused for unconscionable gains.
 ix. who is victim of any armed conflict civil commotion or natural calamity;
THANK YOU

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Offence Against Child

 Children are considered to be gifts from God

 It is the duty of the State to provide equal

and have virtues and good quality in them.

in criminal behaviour which is known as juvenile

Crime by juveniles is a harsh reality in India.

inadequate to deal with the situation and we

 Juvenile means a person who is very young,

have not yet reached the age of adults in the

committed certain acts or omissions which

Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000,

even if he/she is involved in any criminal acts

Though in common language we use both the

young criminal offender and

Petty crimes in general and heinous crimes in

not so serious in nature or crimes such as robbery,

crimes are also being committed by children below

compared with 2012.

 The recent inhuman gang rape of a young girl

 No one is a born criminal.

 Circumstances make him so. Socio-cultural

 Some of the most common causes which are

force a child to get involved in criminal acts.

of the child in question being killed, abused or neglected by that person.

terminal diseases or incurable diseases having no one to support or look after,

exercise control over the child,

sexual abuse or illegal acts,

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