JUVENILE DELINQUENCY - RESTORATIVE JUSTICE JUVENILE HOMES IMPLEMENTATION IS THE ONLY REFORM

Abstract

Children who break the law do not do so on their own free fill, but rather as a result of restricted opportunities available for their development. Children from risk groups are who get in conflict with the law are mostly victims of abuse and neglect, negligent and poor parenting, etc. The concept of Juvenile Delinquency is an evidence to show how society failed rather than assisting the rehabilitation. Penalizing child offender and denying them second chances will lead to nothing but their reoffending when they grow up. Child offenders are still children. 

Unlike retributive justice where the focus is on crime and violation of law, restorative justice aims at resolving problems through reconciliation and improvement of newly created situation. The victim’s needs are respected; offender takes responsibility to show he understands the consequences of his crimes. It focuses more on the restoration of damage that the crime has done to people and their mutual relation rather than punishment of offenders. Three categories of people are directly affected by a crime, viz. Offender, victim and the immediate community. Their needs are to restore material and nonmaterial damage, take responsibility and restore good relations in the community. Emphasis is on the need of people and respect for human values and their personalities, and not just punishment of the offender.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015 made a departure from criminal justice model of punishment recognizing the negative influence of association with adult offenders and higher possibility of reformation of children in growing age where their capacities are still being built and developed. It adopts a path of reformation and rehabilitative measures using institutionalization as a last resort that too for a minimum period on recognized child care facilities popularly known as “Juvenile Homes”.

Juvenile homes include those places where the child is kept during pendency of inquiry under the Juvenile Justice Act (Observation Homes) and the place where the child is sent and the Juvenile Justice Board determines the child in conflict with law (Special Homes), a place where child committing heinous offences are kept (Place of Safety), etc. The Act along with the model rules provide various standards with respect to services to be provided for social integration, infrastructural facilities, training etc. But there have been various instances where in the living conditions of children in Child Care Institutions are compromised. Realizing this, the Supreme Court in Exploitation of Children in State of Tamil Nadu v. Union of India & Ors. directed that all Child Care Institutions shall be registered under the Juvenile Justice Act in order to ensure they fall under the standards as mandated by the legislation and also directed the Ministry of Women and Child Development to undertake the task of Mapping & review of child Care Institutions under the Juvenile Justice Act in all districts of the country.

The research paper, after giving a conceptual explanation as to “Juvenile Delinquency” and “Restorative Justice”, moves on the explain the status of juvenile homes under the legislation together with analyzing the report of Ministry of Women and Child Development on “Review of Child Care Institutions” so as to suggest reformative measures in order to achieve the ultimate goal of rehabilitation and reintegration of children in conflict with the law.