CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

NYAYA NAGAR, MITHAPUR, PATNA-800001

FEBUARY-2019
TOPIC: “JUVENILE IN BIHAR THEIR PROBLEMS AND
PROSPECTS’’
ROUGH DRAFT SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
COURSE TITLED

SOCIOLOGY OF LAW

PROPOSAL SUBMITTED BY

NAME:RITESH KUMAR

ROLL NO:1963

SEMESTER:2ND

SESSION:2018-2023

COURSE:BA.LLB(Hons)
SUBMITTED TO

DR.SANGEET KUMAR

FACULTY OF LAW OF SOCIOLOGY

 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project entitled “all contract are agreement but all agreement are not
contract”submitted by me at CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY is a record of
bona fide project work carried out by me under the guidance of our mentor Mrs.Sushmita
Singh.I further declare that the work reported in this project has not been submitted and will not
be submitted ,either in part or in full,for the award of any other degree or diploma in this
university or in any other university.

------------------------

RITESH KUMAR

ROLL NO: 1963

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is a fact that any research work prepared ,compiled or formulated in isolation is inexplicable to
an extend .This research work although prepared by me is a culmination of effort of a lot of
people who remained in veil,who gave their intense support and helped me in the completion of
the project.

Firstly I,am very grateful to my subject teacher Dr.Sangeet kumar without the kind support and
help to whom the completion of this project was a herculean task for me.He donated his
valuable time from his busy schedule to help me to complete this project .I would like to thank
his for her valuable suggestion towards the making of this project.

I am highly indebted to my parents and friends for their kind co-operation and encouragement
which helped me in completion of this project .I am also thankful to the library staff of my
college which assisted me in acquiring the sources necessary for the compilation of my project .

Last but not least,i would like to thank the almighty who kept me mentally strong and in good
health to concentrate on my project and to complete it in time .

I thank all of them!

--------------------------

(RITESH KUMAR)

ROLL NO:1963

B.A.LLB(HONS)

SESSION :2018-2023

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CONTENTS

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………….................5
 Aims and objectives………………………………………………………………...6
 Review of literature ………………………………………………………………...6
 Hypothesis…………………………………………………………………………..6
 Research questions………………………………………………………………….6
 Research methodology……………………………………………………………...6
 Methods of data collection …………………………………………………………6
 Tools of data collection……………………………………………………………..7
 Sampling method ………………………………………………………………….7
 Sources of data collection …………………………………………………………..7
 Mode of citation ……………………………………………………………………7
2. Problems of juveniles in India ……………………………………………………………8-16
2.1.1. Various forms of abuse of children
2.1.2. Juvenile problems : causes and effect
3. Legal provisions and government policies ……………………………………………..17-25
4. Field work & data………………………………………………………………………26-28
5. Conclusion and suggestions…………………………………………………………….28-32

Bibliography

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 INTRODUCTION

We all know that Children are the assets and wealth of any nation. A healthy environment should
be provided to all children so that they become civilized citizens who are physically fit, socially
active and mentally conscious, equipped with all skills and active participation required by the
society. For reducing inequality and ensuring social justice an equal opportunities for
development to all children should be given, which consecutively would work as an effective
measure to prevent children from becoming delinquent in any society. There is a general attitude
towards children to behave obediently, show respect towards others and imbibe behaviour
having high moral values but due to various circumstances children are being diverted from
social and general command.

The nation’s future citizens deserve compassion and best care. A child is absolutely born
innocent but certain social and environmental factors in a negative aspect diverge their minds
towards criminal tendencies, whose removal might mould them into a person of stature and
excellence. The nation‟s future citizens deserve compassion and best care1. A child is absolutely
born innocent but certain social and environmental factors in a negative aspect diverge their
minds towards criminal tendencies, whose removal might mould them into a person of stature
and excellence. behavior of the juveniles has created social disorder and destruction of moral
values which is creating an alarming position in organized society. Juvenile is considered as a
child who has not completed a specific age as mentioned in the law of any country and doesn’t
bear resemblance as an adult person and who can be made legally answerable for his criminal
activities. The juvenile is a child who has alleged violated certain laws which declares his act or
omission as an offence. A juvenile and a minor are used in different perspective in legal terms.
The term juvenile is generally used in reference to a young criminal offender and minor is related
to legal capacity of a person2.

In India, before passing of the Children Act, 1960 there was no consistency regarding age limit
of juvenile delinquen. Government of India while discharging its international obligations
revoked the JJA Act, 1986 by 2000 Act and the distinction regarding the age between male .

1
Until 1985 almost all the states of India had Children's Act like Children's Act, Madras-05-03-19
2
The Juvenile Justice Act 1986 under Section 2 ( e) defines delinquent juveniles as a juvenile who has been found to
have been committed an offence-05-03-19

5|Page
 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1. The researcher tends to throw some light on the problems of juvenile in india.
2. The researcher tends to throw some light on the different legal provisions and govt.
policies.
3. The researcher tends to throw some light on the way through which their condition can be
improved and they can be bring on the same streamline like normal children.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1. The Children of Neglect: When No One Cares:- By Margaret G. Smith, Rowena Fong.
2. Juvenile Justice– Care And Protection Of Children Act, 2000:- by Nizam Azeez Sait.
3. juvenile justice (care and protection of children) act, 2015

HYPOTHESIS

The researcher presumes that:

1. The condition of juvenile in Bihar is not so good as compare to another state.

2. Government of Bihar along with labour department through the help of various project
and awareness programmes tries to eradicate this practice of social evils like: child labour
and child trafficking.
3. The main aim was to create a society in which all the children are put in same streamline
without and discrimination.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What are the status of juvenile in Bihar?

2. What are the main reason for their worst condition as compare to another state?
3. How their condition can be improved ?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The researcher use both doctrinal and non-doctrinal research methodology.

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION

The methods of data collection is based on observation interview and questionnaire.

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 TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION

The researcher collected the data by stenography,video recording and written notes.

SAMPLING METHOD

SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION

The research is based on both primary and secondary sources of data .

MODE OF CITATION

The researcher have followed a uniform mode of citation throughout the course of this project.

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 PROBLEMS OF JUVENILES IN INDIA

India, the union of twenty-eight states and seven union territories, is a socialist, secular, and
democratic republic. The Indian constitution envisages a parliamentary form of government and
is federal in nature with some unitary features. The size and population of some of India’s largest
states is comparable to some countries in Europe, Africa, Latin America, or Asia. India continues
to wage its battle against poverty, and its attendant, such as, high mortality rates, malnutrition
and illiteracy, the greatest victim of which are children and women. The question of child’s
rights has emerged as one of the most vibrant issues for discussion in this new millennium. The
fact remains that even today children are a part of the disadvantaged minority group so far as
realization of human rights and social justice are concerned. The main reason for this lacuna is
that children are still not a complete political entity in the true sense of the term. Besides, they
are generally physically, mentally and economically defenseless. In this rapidly changing age of
globalization, taking care of child’s at every stage has taken a back seat. This not only affects the
whole value system, but also their present social and economic needs. No doubt that the future of
humanity depends on children to a large extent, even then a very partial and parochial approach
has been followed towards bringing them on the mainstream of social and political agenda. The
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is one of the most widely accepted
international conventions.3 Almost all countries of the world including India has agreed to it.
However, progress has been quite slow in putting it into practice. Reasons for this include
misunderstandings about convention, which has been seen by some people as being “anti-
family” or simply about allowing children to have their own way. Neither of these true but these
misconceptions need to be addressed when seeking to increase awareness of the convention and
what it means in practice. Poverty is a major barrier which prevent implementation of the
convention. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, to protect and
safeguard the interest and welfare of such children and to give effect to the minimum standard.
By the amendment in the Juvenile Justice Act, the law makers have tried to spell out the role of
state as facilitator rather than a doer4. The very fact that the Act has been amended demonstrates
the willingness of governmental machinery to ensure that children in difficult circumstances are
the responsibility of everyone and by amending the same, it has been tried to give a new face to
3
AIR 1984 SC. 80 05-03-19
4
Narrain, Arvind, The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000- A Critique. 05-03-19

8|Page
the juvenile justice system in India. The new Act has been renewed with spirit to show greater
sensitivity to the needs and rights of a child. But still the Act has been criticized on few counts
like, the Act fails to expressly lay down the age of innocence, i.e., the minimum age below which
this Act would not be applicable. The problem of special care and needs of the disabled children
have been ignored. The Act fails to provide for procedural guarantees like right to counsel and
right to speedy trial etc. In other fields also the law is not adequate to deal with the problems of

children. One of them is violation of the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929. Thousands of child
marriages are performed in violation of this Act under the current law, if a child is sexually
abused, a case can be filed for statutory rape or ‘outraging the modesty of the women’. In case of
the girls and for ‘unnatural sexual offences’ in the case of boys. The ordinary criminal laws are
totally inadequate to protect the children who are victims of sexual abuse. The legislation does
not include the common forms of child sexual abuse nor their impact on the children. Although
the Act has been repealed by the new Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 but situation
remains same. Children in India suffer from various health problems also during their early
childhood and even before birth leading to short ended and unhealthy lives. Here also the law is
not adequate to protect the health of children across India. Female Foeticide is another
problematic area it is so many years since the enactment of the pre-natal diagnostic techniques
(Regulation and prevention of misuse) Act, 1994. It is also over seven years since the
amendment of PNDT Act, 2003 came into existence. Yet enforcing the law has proved to be a
major challenge given resistance from the unethical medical practitioners. Even the law agencies
like the police or the courts tend not to view the breaking of law by doctors and medical
professionals as serious offences against women and children and against the law of the land5.
Lack of adequate medical facilities is leading to increasing reach of private health service
providers, whose practices are difficult to monitor. Every day man, women and children are
trafficked across India and throughout South Asia, with India being the source country as well as
a transit and destination point. Many of those trafficked are children, sometimes as young as 8
years old, or over younger. Thus, child trafficking is another major problem. Our government
also taking necessary actions from time to time by passing some schemes, plans, policies and

5
Pande, B.B. (n.d), 'The Indian Juvenile Justice Jurisprudence and the Convention on the Rights of the Child'. 05-
03-19.

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programmes etc. to protect the child in this world full of conflict and economic, social,
intellectual and violent confrontations.

I.VARIOUS FORMS OF ABUSE OF CHILDREN: The National Policy for Children, 1974
declared that, “Children are supremely important national asset” and the same was approved in a
celebrated case Sheela Barse v. Union of India.6 The future well being of the nation depends on
how its children grow and develop. It is the duty of the State to look after every child with a view
to assuring full development of its personality. Protection of children from all forms of abuse and
exploitation across the world is the need of the hour. Children face three fold exploitation – of
age, economic status and caste.7 The Constitution of India mandates the state under Article 39 to
ensure that “Children are not abused and that childhood and youth are protected against
exploitation and against moral and material abandonment”. Children are youngest,innocent and
tender and hence they deserve the eldest care and concern. Unfortunately, the children in India
are subjected to various forms of abuse. National Study on child abuse a study conducted by
Prayas, indicates that it has covered 13 States of India with a sample size of 12447 children,
2324 young adults in both rural and urban areas and 2449 stakeholders.8National Study on Child
Abuse recorded its findings very exhaustively on various forms of abuse of children. They are: 9

(i) Child labour:- child labour it includes children prematurely leading an adult like life. They
receive low wages and work for long hours under conditions that are likely to damage their
health as well as physical and mental development. Frequently they are deprived of meaningful
educational and training opportunities besides remaining separated from their families. Out of
12,447 children covered under the study, almost 1/5th (19.7%) comprised children who were
employed. Almost 1/10th (9.8%) of the working children, work seven days for a week, with a
somewhat lesser proposition (7.1%) reportedly working six days a week. Thus, only about 3

6 AIR 1986 SC 1873 05-03-19

7
India Alliance for Child Right 05-03-19
8
Study on Child Abuse : INDIA 2007 Ministry of Women and Child Development, Govt. of India 05-03-19
9
“National Study on Child Abuse”: conducted by Prayas in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child
Development , GOI, supported by UNICEF and Save the Children Fund, UKExecutive Summary Report-2005. 05-
03-19

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percent of the children were found to be working for five days a week or lesser still. This clearly
reflects child labour being largely underpaid, over worked and exploited. As far as the nature of
duties is concerned, nearly one fourth (23.3%) of the working children, were found to be
working as domestic help. A little more than one tenth (11.2%) of the employed children were
found to be working in road-side tea-shops, eateries, etc The percentage of children working in
the agricultural sector and in other occupations like vending, shoe-shining. Lifting luggage on
railway platforms etc.,were quite high in the States of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat & Assam.10
Thus, the major findings of the National Study on Abuse of Children relating to child labour 11
were: (a) of 12,447 children covered by the study, 19.7% are found to be at work. (b) only 17%
of working children are paid for their work. (c) among working children, 23.2% work as
domestic help.

(ii) Physical Abuse :-

(a) 18.2% children reportedly suffered physical injuries by family members due to beating.

(b) 42.8% school going children reported facing corporal punishment. (c) 15.6% children
suffered physical abuse by other than family members.

(iii) Emotional Abuse:-

Article 15 One out of five children suffers from high emotional abuse. (b) 44.1% children
reported that they were shouted at and humiliated by their own family
members.(c) The level of emotional abuse is seen to be the highest amongst
young children (44.3%) (d) Delhi, Assam and Madhya Pradesh are the States
where emotional abuse is higher.

(iv) Substance Abuse

(a) 32.1% children report to have tasted any one of the substances like, alcohol, bhang, ganja,
charas, heroin, smack, brown sugar etc. (b) the prevalence of substance abuse is distinctly lower
among females (19.4%) than among males (43.9%).

10
AIR 1986 SC 1873 05-03-19 05-03-19
11
Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 05-03-19

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(v) Girl child neglect

(a) Out of those girls with brothers (N=4138), 48.4% cases reported parents taking side of the
brothers; (b) one-third of the girls (32%) who had brothers, reported that their parents gave more
love and attention to their brothers; and (c) 44.8% of the girl respondents felt it was an advantage
being a girl, though almost half of the total girl child respondents (N=5981) still wished they
were a boy.

(vi) Sexual Abuse

1. 27.9% children reported about adults trying to rub their private parts against
children in crowded places; (b) 30.2% children were shown dirty pictures and
4.5%have been photographed in nude; (c) Every sixteenth child reported to
having experienced intercourse (amounting to assault); (d) Three out of every ten
young.

II.JUVENILE PROBLEMS : CAUSES AND EFFECT

The concept of juvenile justice is said to be based on the principle of guardianship. Since it is the
duty of every person to take care of his/her children the state enforces this duty through law,
because the ultimate responsibility lies on the state to take care of child in need of care and
protection. 12 Apart from nutrition and education, natural love and affection is vecy importantfor
a child’s physicaland mental development. A child who is”abandoned, avoided and neglected by
the parent becomes unmanageable and · makes the child frustrated and corrupted as a result of
which the chiid has to –face disrespect and humiliation in the society. Many a times a majority of
such children are subjected to all forms of exploitation and are faced to do all sorts of inhuman
work to earn their livelihood. There are also children who are abandoned by their parents and left
to fend for themselves. This my result in the child committing delinquent acts. Therefore, to
avoid this the law provides for the care of child in need of care of protection with treatment
because they need protection .rather than punishment. It is seen thaf the definition of ‘child in
need of care and protection under the Act includes children who are found begging without
having any home and any ostensible means of subsistence and is a destitute. These destitute

12
B.P. Dwivedi, Neglected Juveniles, The Law and Laxity, !6 LB.R. (1989) 486 . 05-03-19

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children live and grow in a society where they are neglected and deprived of not only food,.
Clothing and shelter but also education. They also lack affection, care and guidance from adults.
These street children not only live but also work and struggle in situations and circumstances that
are not conducive for their growth and development. Since a majority of these children come
from poor families who are migrants ·and live in slums or squatter dwellings, therefore, they do
not have an equal sharing of socio – cultural and economic opportunities for care, protection and
socialization. Poverty may be submitted as the primary as the primary cause of growing problem
of street children in India. Poverty exposes these children to innumerable problems and as a
result the child remains poor throughout the life. These children are not deprived of their rights
but are also denied access to education and adequate health care UNICEF has defmed ‘street
children’ as children who live on the streets alone or with –their families, or children who spend·
most oftheir times on the streets to fend for themsei~es (but return home on –a regular basis). It
is stated that while there are no recently published statistics, UNICEF reported that the number
of street children in India was as high as 18 million in 20006• Generally, children who are
abused, neglected, abandoned and maltreated end up living in the streets. They do not have any
other alternative and as such are faced to live their life in the streets. Mostly these children resort
to varied odd jobs like rag pickers, shoe shine boys, washing utensils or serving tea in dhabas or
working as fitters etc on workshops or small mechanic shops.These children generally live in
groups at construction sites without any habitation facilities. It is unfortunate that inspite of the
various constitutional provisions for protecting the tender and young age of children, they
continue to live in such deplorable conditions. Child labour in India is said to be a product of
socio – economic and cultural condition. Anticonstitutional polices, inadequate legislative
measures and lack of political will have also been considered as important factors responsible for
the persistence of this unlawful social evil. In majority of the cases the attitude of parents and
their inability to appreciate the Childs13 educational capabilities and intelligence have been taken
as the root cause behind child labour14. And criminal tendencies win the confiderice ·of the· child
in convincing the child that education could not solve their problems and therefore the child is
encouraged to work very early in life. As a resuli the child is not in a position to enjoy the benefit

13
Convention on Rights of the Child, 1959 05-03-19
14
Shrinivasan Gupta, Right of Child and ChildLabour: A Critical Study, 37 JILl (1995) 537. 05-03-19

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of state policy for free education to children only by the simple reason that the child cannot
afford to miss the wages by going to school for education.

Next, the definition of ‘child in need of care and protection also includes a child who is being or
is likely to be abused, tortured or exploited for the purpose of sexual abuse or illegal acts. Parents
and guardians are generally assumed and expected to naturally act in the best interest of the child
but it is seen that this is not always so. Since children have no political power and their opinions
are not given due weight they are dependent upon the adults and state to protect their rights but
when this does not happen there is every possibility of these children being victims of sexual
abuse and exploitation. As a result the sexual abuse of children is increasing by the day in every
society. Internet has also contributed towards the increase in instances of sexual abuse of
children because child sex has turned into global business through internet. It is submitted that
the use of children in pornographic literature is also increasing. Newspapers expose only the tip
of the ice berg, because the victims and their guardians refrain from reporting cases of sexual
abuse because of the shame and guilt associated with it.15 Sexual .abuse of. Children is not only_
one of the worst fomis of exploitation of children but also amounts to the violation of the basic
human.·rights of the .child: Many other factors are also responsible .for the heinous crime .of
sexual abuse of children. Moral values of men are degrading ‘by the clay because man has
become materialistic specially with industrialization and growth of metropolitan cities. As a
result incidence of sexual abuse is on the rise. But it is submitted that when the society was a
rural one and joint family system existed in majority in every society, incidents of sexual abuse
specially rape were negligible16 • Another factor for the ever growing problem of sexual abuse is
poverty. Poverty makes children come to big cities from rural area in search of all kinds of odd
jobs like domestic servants, servants in hotels, dhabas, offices etc. but in reality what they get is
torture, sexual abuse and forced entry into prostitution. However, sexual abuse of children is not
only limited at the· hands of the strangers. Nowadays, children are not safe in the hands of their
own family members. Many a times children suffer sexual abuse at the hands of family
members. As a result of which the child suffers not only physically but psychologically as well.
This effects the emotional state of a child because in many cases the child is not able to disclose

15
Va1sarnma Paul; Sexual Abuse of Children -Need for Legislation, XXXII (1&2) Indian Bar Review (2005) 114
05-03-19
16
11. !d. at 117 05-03-19

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this to anybody out of fear and also because most of the time the parents would not believe the
child.17 Apart from sexual abuse of children, child marriage is also another form of child abuse.
A vast majority of our population is still illiterate and so they are most of the time superstitious.
At the same time lack of proper health care and population control leads to cases of child
marriage specially in rural areas. Child marriage is not a new phenomenon and has been in
existence since a long time However, it is submitted that various studies have indicated that
although instances of ‘swayamvara’ were cited in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, child
marriage was not prevalent in ancient India. Vedic mantras indicated that a girl should be
married only when she was fully developed both physically and mentally. The seeds of insidious
practices against women were sown, it is said probably during the reign of despotic Monarchs or
feudal lords during the middle ages. During this period the birth of baby girls were considered as
an ill omen and often resulted in the killing of such baby girls. Girls were married off before the
marriageable age by parents to get rid of the feeling and responsibility of bringing up young
unmarried girls. Disposal of young minor girls for the purpose of marriage to the highest bidder
was another practice that was prevalent. Therefore, for a number of traditional, religious and
other reasons, girls were married off before they attained the age of 8 or 9 years.

The problem of HIV I AIDS is one which has affected people of all countries. It has assumed
epidemic proportions and is a matter of serious concern throughout the world. Not only adults
but children have also not been spared by this disease .. Children who are infec~ed with
HIV/AIDS are majority of the time victims of circumstances. Consequently such children are at
the risk of facing social exclusion. Therefore, such children need all types of case specially
residential care, foster care, medical care, medical follow up and other forms of protection.

Some of the children who are more vulnerable are:

a)· Children who are confirmed as infected by the virus.

b) Children born to HIV positive mothers acquiring the virus in the

womb.

17
Edvin R.A. Saligaman (Editor-in-Chief), “Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences” Vol.III, Macmillan Company
1951 reprint, page 380.05-03-19

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c) Children who require blood transfusion due to any illness.

d) Children who are addicted to drugs.

e) Children who are sexually abused and exploited. F) Children become affected because their
parents or siblings are HIV

positive.

g) Children vulnerable to HIV in high-risk communities.Further the definition of ‘child in need

of care and protection’ also includes children who are likely to be inducted into drug abuse or
trafficking. It may be submitted that though the problem of substance abuse or drug abuse effects
children belonging to the different strata of society living in the tribal, rural and urban India but
children living in the streets are more likely to be affected by drug abuse. These children have to
fight daily for their survival in an uncaring and hostile environment. As a result of having to
grow up in a tough world these children become resilient. But because they live in the streets
they are vulnerable and insecure. While many of these children resort to drugs to overcome the
stressful lives that they live everyday, others are coerced into substance abuse. Furthermore, a
child who is a victim of armed conflict, civil commotion or unnatural calamity also comes under
the purview of the definition of the ‘child in need of care and protection’18. Children as victims
of armed conflict all over the world is a serious problem. After and a war is over soldiers die and
people suffer innumerable and irreparable loss and damage. Amongst all this children are the
most and worst affected

Therefore, for the protection and care of children as victims of armed conflicts two treatise ie
The Geneva Convention and the Convention of the Rights of the Child, 1989 exists. The Geneva
Conventions of 1949 and their additional Protocol of 1977 lays down a series of rules giving the
children special protection. On the other hand, the Convention on the Rights of child, 1989, also
specifically protects child victims ofwar19 A recent addition to these two international
instruments is said to be the treaty to eliminate landmines, which was adopted in September
1977, in Ottawa, Canada. The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production
and Transfer of Anti personnel Mines and on their Destruction was entered into force in 1999.

18
For discussion ofthereievant provision See, Supra Chapter IV. 05-03-19
19
For discussion of relevant provision see, Supra Chapter II 05-03-19

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Though this treaty does not specifically address children, this international treaty is meant to
especially protect children frorri the suffering inflicted by these indiscriminate weapons of
destruction20 the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection. Of Children) Act,
200044 which was made various provisions in respect of separate handling of child in need of
care and protection and juvenile in conflict with law. Child welfare committees and Juvenile
Justice Boards has been constituted for the purpose of dealing with child in need of care and
protection and juvenile in conflict with law separately. The aim of this provision is to segregate
the two categories of children/juveniles and to provide treatment and training to the different
categories of children separately i.e. children’s homes and special homes.

20
http://Legalservicesindia.com/article/article/children-in-armed-conflict (visited on 9th December II). 05-03-19

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 LEGAL PROVISIONS AND GOVERNMENT POLICIES

In the ancient period, socialization was the main intention behind the child labour. This kind of
work assigned to them was so helpful for the overall development of the children. The kind of
involvement of the children in their early age was aimed at in preparing for their adult hood.
Moreover, those kinds of works were free of any harm to the children. But, after industrialization
the meaning of child labour went on changing. Children gradually started to work for others in
the form of laboures. Slowly, the world community started to discuss about the conditions of
working children. Kind of large scale protestations were took place here and there around the
globe. The first international effort to fight against child labour has begun with the establishment
of International Labour Organisation (ILO).

The ILO since 1919, has been much concerned with the general elimination of child labour and
the promotion of well being of the children. Improvement of labour standard around the world is
the basic aim of the ILO and has given a lot of emphasize to protect the working children in the
form of convention and recommendations. From its inception, it has made child labour one of its
central concern. ILO works on the child labour and related issues over the decades has mainly
taken its cue from the phrase “protection of children” in its preamble of its constitution (Bandari,
2000). The ILO’s prime tool in pursuing the abolition of child labour has always been and has
remained to this day, the labour standards that embody the concept of a minimum age to enter
into employment. Further, the main function of the ILO is to work with various Governaments
by providing technical and financial assistance for the effective implementations of the anti
childlabour programmes in the respective countries21.

In the past, children were not considered as an important constituency22. They were for the most
part regarded as inferior and subordinate to adults and childhood was a miserable period of life.
The issue of child rights has been discussed across the globe since 1920s. The childhood was
regarded as a relatively sacred part of life among many scholars and other stakeholders of child
rights protection. The UNICEF was established in 1946 as the first major step in order to
safeguard the interest of the children. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted

21
The Object and Reasons Appended to the Children Act, 1960 05-03-19
22
The Black Dictionary of Law. 05-03-19

18 | P a g e
by the General Assembly in 1948. The provisions of that Declaration and its two International
Covenants on human rights, adopted in 1966, recognized that children need protection against all
oppressive features and forces. The World Summit for Children (1991) was convened in New
York in order to take stock of the universal child rights protection and adopted the World
Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and Plan of Action. The
document contains concrete goals to be achieved before the end of the 20th century in various
fields of children’s lives. The national action plans for 1991-2000 were also adopted all over the
world since they aimed at reducing infant and maternal mortality rates, reducing malnutrition and
illiteracy, providing access to safe drinking water and to basic education, combating devastating
emergencies resulting from natural disasters and armed conflicts and solving the problem of
children in extreme poverty. The Conference recommended that the situation of children and
their human rights be regularly reviewed and monitored by all relevant organs and mechanisms
of the United Nations system.

The issue of child rights protection received universal recognition after reports of grave
injustices suffered by children such as poverty, hunger, malnutrition, high infant mortality,
deficient health care, child labor, child abuse, child trafficking, child prostitution and so on.
Prominent global organizations such as Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), International Labor Organization (ILO), United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Development Project (UNDP)
and a number of non-governmental organizations, took part seriously in the deliberations on
child rights protection.23

Constitutional Provisions for Children

Article 15 guarantees right against discrimination and affirm the right of the State Article 14
guarantees equality before law to all citizens including the children. There are several
constitutional provisions for the protection of children in India. Article 24 provides that no child
below the age of 14 shall be employed to work in Article 21 guarantees personal liberty and due
process of law to one and all. to make special provisions for women and children. Article 37
ensures that the government has the flexibility to undertake appropriate Article 29 ensures the

23
http://www.altlawforum.org/publications/TheJJ Act2002 05-03-19

19 | P a g e
rights of minorities for protection of their interest. any hazardous employment. Article 39 (e)
of the Directive Principles of State Policy provides that children oflegislative and administrative
measures to ensure child rights. Tender age should not be abused and that they should not be
forced by economic Article 39 (f) of the Directive Principles of State Policy requires children to
benecessity to enter vocations unsuited to their age or strength. given opportunities and
facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity, and that
childhood and youth be protected against Article 45 of the Directive Principles of State Policy
provides for free andexploitation and moral and material abandonment. Article 46 recognizes
the right of weaker sections of the people to be protectedcompulsory education for all children
until their complete the age of 14. Article 47 provides the right to nutrition and standard of
living and improvedfrom social injustices and all forms of exploitation. public health.

Government Policy on Children

The Government of India adopted National Policy for Children in 1974 and there was a shift of
focus from child welfare to child development. The policy was intended to ensure effective
services for children in the areas of education, health, nutrition and recreation with special
emphasis on the weaker sections of society. The Government of India has taken a number of
measures related to child rights protection and child development in India. The Ministry of
Women and Child Development was established on a full-fledged basis.

The National Plan of Action for Children (NPA) was prepared by the Government of India under
the title ‘A Commitment to the Child’ with a focus on various target groups of vulnerable
children and called for improved protection of these children. The plan was indeed an outcome
of an inter-sector, inter-department coordination and covered areas of health, nutrition, water and
sanitation, education, children in need of care and protection, girl child adolescent girls, children
and environment, women advocacy and people’s participation, resources monitoring and
evaluation24.

The National Plan of Action for the Girl Child was formulated during 1991-2000 by the
Government of India in order to ensure the survival and protection of the girl child, safe

24
A Central Scheme notified by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India in 2009, to
enable effective implementation of the JJ Act and strengthen child protection in India 05-03-19

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motherhood, overall development of the girl child and special protection for vulnerable girl
children in need of care and protection. The vulnerable groups of children included – street
children, orphaned, abandoned and destitute children, working children, abused children,
children who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, children engaging in
substance abuse, children in conflict and disaster situations, children in families at-risk,
differently able children, mentally ill children, HIV/AIDS affected / infected children and
juveniles in conflict with the law. The National Charter for Children (2003), National Plan of
Action for Children (2005) and enforcement of the National Commissions for Protection of
Child Rights Act (2006) were formulated and established with a view to protect the interest of
children in India. The National Plan of Action was mainly responsible for a comprehensive study
of child abuse and initiation of the amendment of law on child marriage. The Prohibition of
Child Marriage Bill (2006) enhanced the punishment for those who were involved in child abuse
and child marriage activities. The various five year plan documents also emphasized the need
and importance of child development in the country. The Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79) ensured
the integration and coordination of services after the implementation of Integrated Child
Development Services (ICDS) in 1975. The Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85) strengthened child
welfare and development processes in the country which led to the spatial expansion and
enrichment of child development services through a variety of programme.25 The Eight Five
Year Plan (1992-97) saw a shift of focus from child development to human development through
advocacy, mobilization and community empowerment. The Government of India declared its
commitment to every child development in the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002). The Tenth
Five Year Plan (2003-2007) advocated convergent / integrated rights based approach to ensure
the survival, development, protection and participation of children. Certain progressive measures
such as reduction in gender gaps, literacy promotion, reduction in infant mortality rate, reduction
in maternal mortality rate, arresting the decline in the child sex ratio, universalisation of ICDS
scheme and so on were implemented all over the country. 26 The Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-
12) emphatically stated that ‘development of the child is at the center of national development
approach’. The plan document emphasized the child rights based approach and highlighted the

25
This expression has been borrowed from various scholarly articles that examined the appropriateness of treating
juveniles who commit serious offences as adults in the USA 05-03-19
26
Article 37(a), UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 05-03-19

21 | P a g e
holistic approach to child development in the country. The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17)
also emphasized the need for adequate child rights protection and integrated child development
in India.

Child rights in India

The children are treated in India as holders of rights on par with other citizens. Child rights in the
family, school and community are examined by the scholars, policy makers and other
stakeholders of child rights protection. The family is the core unit of society and the major
source of development of children. An enriching and nurturing family life is essential for the
protection of child rights and development of child’s personality. The stakeholders have also
realized that there is a need to integrate various policies to strengthen the family as a unit,
enhance child development in the family and prevent child destitution. The school is also another
important institution which is responsible for child rights protection.27 The educational
institutions are required to focus on compulsory universal elementary education, strengthen the
school system, reorient curricula and promote girl child and other vulnerable groups of children.
The community is also responsible for protecting the interest of children through dissemination
of information, awareness generation, training, documentation, publication, lobbying, policy
development, mobilizing resources and monitoring the progress.

Sharma and Ahluwalia (2000:332) examined the role of education in ensuring the development
of human rights and values among the children and noted that children and students who are the
future citizens have to be trained to respond to and adjust with the new social changes
satisfactorily by equipping them with desirable skills and values. They have noted that as a part
of child personality development, particularly in terms of discovering the inherent potential of a
child, these needs to be implemented right from the primary stage to the highest level of formal
and non-formal education. The scholars have also suggested that appropriate educational
approaches and systematic teaching strategies of value education would enable the children to
become conscience keepers of the nation later Surendra Singh (2008:341) discussed the issue of
prevention of child abuse in India extensively28. He observes: “It is mainly because of the

27
Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 10 (2007) Children‟s rights in juvenile justice, para
8 05-03-19
28
National Crime Records Bureau- 2014 05-03-19

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increasing tendency of people including parents, guardians and teachers to abuse and exploit
children that the attention of the entire world community has been drawn towards this problem
which is gradually assuming alarming proportions. India has ratified the UN Convention and
stands committed to protect her children against all forms of abuse and exploitation. India has
provided protection to children by enacting two specific pieces of legislation namely, Juvenile
Justice Act, 1986 and Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986. Persistent child abuse
creates a number of problems in the personality of the abused child. The problem of child abuse,
particularly in terms of child labor, child sex abuse and organized involvement of children in
begging and drug trafficking has become fairly wide-spread in the country and it has taken the
form of a burning social problem” Despite constitutional guarantees, government’s schemes and
allied child development initiatives, a vast majority of children in India are still suffering from
series of hazards and deprivations. Child rights activists in India have noted that millions of
children face wide spread deprivation and discrimination mainly due to adult centered decisions
and actions concerning child rights protection in India29. The media report increasing instances
of child abuse and child exploitation despite constitutional guarantees and civil rights. The
growing number of ‘poor children’, ‘working children’ and ‘marginalized children’ indicates the
existing sorry state of affairs in the country with respect to child rights protection especially in
the age of privatization, liberalization and globalization. Violations of child rights occur more in
respect of the children representing the poor and downtrodden communities as compared to
middle class and upper class The children do not constitute a homogeneous community in India
which is divided into different categories based on social and economic divisions. The
approaches of the government basically remain welfarist and child rights are examined from the
point of view of adults rather than children. The governmental initiatives are indeed adult-
centered but not child-centered in reality. The Indian laws are also neither child friendly or child-
oriented since family laws make distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children
depending on the status of their parent’s marriage or relationship.

A large number of children are not enjoying the benefits of universal education, basic education
and vocational education in India. A majority of children including the girls are dropout of
school due to several reasons. An examination of state policies and programmes reveals that

29
Child Welfare Committees have been empowered to do this under Rule 27 (12), JJ Model Rules 2007 05-03-19

23 | P a g e
child education in India suffers from series of constraints and limitations. There are more number
of children who have the benefit of access to mainstream schools which are not properly
equipped in terms of men and materials. The Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2003 has also
attracted severe criticism of the educationists and activists for several lapses and constraints. The
recent 93rd Amendment bill intends to make education a fundamental right of the children.

The health of Indian children continues to be a matter of grave concern, especially in the age of
globalization. The privatization of health services has caused a death blow to the health and
progress of a vast majority of Indian children who represent socially and economically weaker
sections. There is increasing environmental degradation and pollution which have led to
deterioration in children’s health. The children are suffering from food crisis, starvation,
malnutrition, health disorders and other constraints. There is no specific law which addresses the
issue of public health in India. The primary health care system still remains malnourished in
India. The population policy continues to remain as children unfriendly. There is no mention of
child health in the National Health Policy, 2000 and other health programmes of the central and
state governments.

The children in rural and urban areas continue to work in hazardous working conditions even
though The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation) Act was enacted in 1986.30 The Act leaves
out a large range of activities that children are engaged in and are exploited and abused. The
child trafficking has assumed an alarming proportion in India.

The adoption of children continues to be determined by religion, caste, color, creed and other
extraneous factors which impede the progress of children. The personal laws of the religions do
not allow healthy adoption of children who are victims of circumstances. The instances of selling
of babies from poor families are reported in the media frequently. Many children are homeless or
living in unhealthy conditions on account of displacement in the name of development and
progress. In times of natural calamities, the children are worst affected.

Child participation in the process of child rights protection programmes is yet to become a reality
in India. The children are right to participation as not being actualized in India mainly due to lack

30
Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IBHAS) – Delhi, Central Institute of Psychiatry – Ranchi,
LokoPriyaGopinathBordoloi Regional Institute of Mental Health – Tezpur and NIMHANS Bangalore 05-03-19

24 | P a g e
of political will and social activism. The children have to go a long way before the inclusion of
children’s participation is internalized and accepted widely in a developing country like India.
Most of the children are not aware of their rights, constitutional safeguards, government policies,
welfare measures and other activities. The right to education, the right to expression, the right to
information, the right to nutrition, the right to health care, the right to protection from abuse, the
right to protection from exploitation, the right to protection from neglect, the right to
development, the right to recreation, the right to name and nationality and the right to survival
are not fully and properly guaranteed to the children of India for various reasons

The plummeting sex ratio in India clearly reveals that the very existence of the girl-child is under
threat. The female – male balance in India has been adverse to females for at least 100 years. The
juvenile sex ration in the 0-6 age group has fallen down over a period of time in India. The re-
emergence of infanticide is taking a heavy toll in the country due to lack of political will and
social responsibility. According to the latest statistics, about 50% of Indian children aged 6-18 do
not go to schools and that the dropout rates increase in case of boys and girls after the secondary
level in India. Many children remain as dropout after the elementary level due to several factors.
Prominent among them include – economic backwardness of the parents, inadequate school
infrastructure, poor quality of education, gender unfriendly educational system, disabled-
unfriendly services, caste-discriminatory education and so on. Hence, the right to children’s
education is not fully honored.31 The children are not encouraged to express their views in a free
and fair atmosphere within and outside the family because of their tender age and other
limitations. Most of the children in India are not allowed to enjoy their right to expression. In the
age of information explosion and right to information, most of the children representing the
under privileged section of society are not in a position to exercise their right to information.

A majority of the children representing socially and economically weaker sections of the society
are facing the problems of hunger, starvation, ill health, malnutrition and so on. They are
deprived of their right to nutrition. The child malnutrition is generally caused by a combination
of inadequate are inappropriate food intake, gastrointestinal parasites and other childhood
diseases. A majority of Indian children do not receive any form of vaccination, remain anemic

31
Section 62 (3), JJ Act 2000 0m -03-19 05-03-19

25 | P a g e
and suffer from low birth weight in the country. About 50% of the below the poverty line
families in India are out of the purview of the targeted public distribution system.

Many families and children in India are facing the problem of food insecurity. The direction of
Supreme Court of India to provide adequate and nutritious food to the citizens and children
assumes great significance in order to enable the people to stay alive and healthy.

Child health care facilities are not decentralized in the country. Children are also suffering from
ill health due to lack of public health services in remote and interior regions of the country, poor
access to subsidized healthcare facilities, declining State expenditure on public health, lack of
awareness about to prevent to child healthcare and other constraints. India has the world’s largest
number of sexually abused children. They are subjected to both physical and mental abuse. They
are not fully guaranteed the right to protection from abuse.32

India is home to the highest number of child laborers in the world. The children are made to
work by compulsion and not by choice. The parents also sell their children for employment in
hotels, workshops, brothels and domestic work. There is more number of children who are not
protected from various forms of exploitation. The children working under exploitative and
inhuman conditions are not loved and protected. The children are neglected by the parents,
relatives and other members of the society. The unfavorable and inhuman living conditions of
under privileged children are responsible for the deprivation of the right of the children to
development. A majority of the poor and needy children in India do not enjoy the right to
recreational pursuits like sports, entertainment and hobbies in India. A vast majority of
underprivileged children in India are treated like commodities and exported to other countries as
labor or prostitutes. They are deprived of their right to name and nationality. The children die in
good number between the age of 1-5 due to poverty, ill health, malnutrition, gender
discrimination and other problems. They are not in a position to enjoy the right to survival due to
several social and economic constraints.

A majority of the poor and needy children in India do not enjoy the right to recreational pursuits
like sports, entertainment and hobbies in India. A vast majority of underprivileged children in

32
Commissions for Protection of Child Rights are empowered to recommend to the State Government to grant
interim compensation for child victims under Section 15 (3), Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005
05-03-19

26 | P a g e
India are treated like commodities and exported to other countries as labor or prostitutes. They
are deprived of their right to name and nationality. The children die in good number between the
age of 1-5 due to poverty, ill health, malnutrition, gender discrimination and other problems.
They are not in a position to enjoy the right to survival due to several social and economic
constraints.

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 FIELD WORK & DATA

DATE :12-12-2018
On this day I was very exited because I went for field work for the very 1st time.On this day I
was instructed to arrive at 7:00 am because we have to cover long distance and our target was
Saran.I departure at 7:30 am along with one NGO staff member.During journey I came to know
about various unknown places.Sir helped me to introduce various places and i also came to know
about different routes. It was quite interesting journey of approximately 3 hours. Finally we went
their and we visited in different areas from where we have to take children whose name was
mentioned in the list.During this i came to know about various things like: what are the criteria
for selection of the children,what shorts of problems faced by staffs while doing field
work.During this I also came to know about the conditions of the children and their family
backgrounds they was quite backwards and poor in both social and economical aspects. Because
of this condition of their family they was unable to provide better education to their children as
well as all those facilities which is given to general children for their bright future.We went there
meet with children and their family head.Firstly we introduced ourselves and about our NGO and
we also convince them so that they send their children by making them aware about what shorts
of facilities their children get there for their bright future. We visited in different areas and meet
with different children as well as their family whose name was given in list. The area where I
visited I realized that most of the people suffer from extreme poverty their condition was quite
bad as compare to general people.Their social,economic and political condition was not good.By
negotitation I came to know that they are even not able to maintain their proper livelihood
because of poverty and because of this most of the parents due to the dearth of money they are
not able to send their children in schools to provide them better education for their bright
future.Due to such kind of family condition most of the children are force to do work in order to
earn some livelihood and their childhood get spoil.By interrogation with some children in NGO I
came to know various things which was responsible for their misery and all sufferings.They left
their study because of various reasons like:For earning livelihood due to large family size,due to
incapacity of parents,for the treatment of their mother or father who is suffering from serious
health problems .for earning money in order to marry their sister etc. so these are the some of
reasons which I came to know which are main reason for their misery conditions.

28 | P a g e
Pic after interrogation.in NGO location –Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre (JAC) society, House no.
54,Road no.2B Rajendra Nagar,Patna -800016.

Here after consulting with staff members I came to know about various government programmes
and policies which was made for the betterment of juveniles of Bihar.This NGO also contributed
a lot for improving the condition of juvenils of bihar.This provides a lot fo facilities to them for
their proper development.By the help of staff members I also came to know about various
programmes and policies which was made by this prayas jac society for the betterment of
children.This NGO provides them better educational facilities,different skills traning,food
clothes and shelters which is free of cost.The main aim of this NGO was make them educated by
providing better education and to provide better skill traning according to their interest in which
they can do better and earn handsome salary for sustaining their life in better manner. In this way
it contributes a lot for the betterment of the condition of juveniles of bihar.

Childerns while taking their lunch:

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30 | P a g e
 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

Children are all around us. They represent about a quarter of the world’s population. They are
not equipped to defend themselves, they must depend on what is given them. They are victims of
circumstances. They bring us joy, they bring us tears, they are our reason to hope. They are your
children, they are my children, they are the children of the world.

India is home to the largest child population in the world. The Constitution of India guarantees
Fundamental Rights to all children in the country and empowers the State to make special
provisions for children. The Directive Principles of State Policy specifically guide the State in
securing the tender age of children from abuse and ensuring that children are given opportunities
and facilities to develop in a healthy manner in conditions of freedom and dignity. The State is
responsible for ensuring that childhood is protected from exploitation and moral and material
abandonment1 . The profile of children in India reveals that a majority of them are living in
conditions of want, deprived of basic survival, subsistence, and developmental opportunities.
High rates of child mortality, school dropouts, child labour, handicapped children, and the
problem of juvenile delinquency are indicators of the need for intervention by the state.

Childcare and protection had been accepted as the responsibilities of the modern welfare state
but become obligations of the state with the shift from welfare to rights for fulfilling the needs of
children following the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Through social welfare
programmes and the Juvenile Justice System, states have undertaken the responsibility of
ensuring developmental opportunities to children living in conditions of want and showing Signs
of social maladjustment.

Juvenile delinquency has become a global phenomenon these days, despite intensive
rehabilitative measures and special procedure for tackling the problem of juvenile delinquency,
there is a growing tendency among youngsters to be arrogant, violent and disobedient to law with
the result there has been considerable rise in the incidence of juvenile delinquency The industrial
development and economic growth in India has resulted into urbanization which in turn has
given rise to new problems such as housing, slum dwelling, overcrowding, lack of cost of living
in urban areas make it necessary even for women to take up outdoor jobs for supporting their
family financially. With the result their children are left neglected at home without any parental

31 | P a g e
control. Moreover, temptation for modern luxuries of life lures young people of resort to
wrongful means to satisfy their wants. All these factors cumulatively lead an enormous increase
in juvenile delinquency in urban area. Undoubtedly, juveniles in conflict with law and children in
need of care and protection are defenceless and they need special protection. The state
guarantees special treatment to them through statutory law. However, in practice, they often get
victimized by legal and procedural entanglements. They are more prone to human rights
violations at the hands of state agencies, their own family and community in the form of arbitrary
detention, cruel punishments, torture and abuse. In recent years, the problems of children in need
of care and protection and those in conflict with law has been receiving considerable attention
both of the government, NHRC, social activists as well as the civil society at large. But, the
problems encountered by them are of gigantic nature and all that is being done is not sufficient.
If the problems faced by them are not taken into account, we as a society would be failing in our
duties. It is therefore of paramount importance that as a society we must devote full attention to
ensure that they are properly cared for so that they have their rightful place in the society. For
this to happen, there is need to spread awareness on the problems faced by them as well as build-
up the capacities of all those dealing with them.

India declared its National Policy for Children in 1974.33 This policy is for children in general.
There is no separate policy related to children in especially difficult circumstances or to the
Juvenile Justice System. During the Consultations on Juvenile Justice there was consensus that a
policy on juvenile justice should precede the new legislation proposed to be enacted by the
government.2 Prior to the implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act 1986, the Children Acts of
various states reflected that the legislative policy differed from state to state. The need for a
uniform Children Act across the country paved the way for the enactment of The Juvenile Justice
Act, 1986 (JJA). It promoted ‘the best interest of the juveniles’ by incorporating into its fold not
only the major provisions and clauses of the Indian Constitution and the 1974 National Policy
Resolution for Children but also the universally agreed principles and standards for the
protection of juveniles such as the 1959 United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child
and the 1985 United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice
(Beijing Rules). The Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 overruled imprisonment of juveniles in police

33
National Consultation on Justice for Children held on 18 and 19 March 2001, New Delhi 05-03-19

32 | P a g e
lock-up or jail. Other than this, it stipulated two main authorities – a juvenile welfare board and a
juvenile court – to deal with neglected and delinquent juveniles. It also stipulated establishment
of various kinds of institutions for the care of juveniles – a juvenile home for the reception of
neglected juveniles, a special home for the reception of delinquent juveniles, an observation
home for the temporary reception of juveniles during the pendency of any inquiry regarding
them, and an after-care home for the purpose of taking care of juveniles after they were
discharged from a juvenile home or a special home.

But the implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 had many loopholes in terms of age
determination, separate trials, court proceedings, notification of charges to parents or guardians,
filing of reports by probation officers, reasons for and length of confinement, rehabilitation and
after care of juveniles. The juveniles were often not provided with a copy of the rules governing
their detention and the written description of their rights. Many juveniles housed in institutions
run by the government did not know the purpose of their stay and the future of their
institutionalization. Like the 1960 Children Act, the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, too promoted a
sex discriminatory definition of a juvenile. Moreover, most of the states and union territories
who had formulated their Rules for the implementation of the JJA were devoid of the basic
infrastructure consisting of juvenile welfare boards, juvenile courts, observation homes, juvenile
homes, special homes and after care homes. They had also not taken up the required measures
for observance of minimum standards for institutional care or for the advancement of non-
institutional care, such as foster care, sponsorship, adoption, etc34. The chasm between reality
and the application of the law was felt all the more with the adoption of the 1989 Convention on
the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its ratification by the Government of India in 1992

The JJA has been re-enacted as the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000,
in view of the primary responsibility imposed on the state, under Articles 15 (3), 39 (e) and (f),
45, and 47 of the Constitution of India, of ensuring that all the needs of children are met with and
their basic human rights are fully protected. It also sought to incorporate the standards prescribed
by the UN convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the UN Rules for Administration of
Juvenile Justice 1985 (Beijing Rules), and the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived

34
Commissions for Protection of Child Rights are empowered to recommend to the State Government to grant
interim compensation for child victims under Section 15 (3), Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005
05-03-19

33 | P a g e
of Liberty 1990 (PJDL Rules). The passing of this Act endorsed the “justice” as well as the
“rights” approach towards children and moreover made use of a better terminology by providing
for “juveniles in conflict with law” and “children in need of care and protection”. It calls for
keeping both the categories separate pending their inquiries. This segregation aims to curb the
bad influence on the child who is in need of care and protection from the one who is in conflict
with law. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, brings about
standardization in the definition of a ‘juvenile’ or a ‘child’ across the country except for Jammu
and Kashmir. A ‘juvenile’ or ‘child’ is a person who has not completed eighteenth year of age.
Juveniles in conflict with law include all those children alleged to or found to have committed an
offence. They are to be handled by the juvenile justice board. Children in need of care and
protection cover a range of ‘at risk’ children to be dealt by child welfare committee. While
dealing with juveniles and children, it gave importance to their respective families for tendering
of advice and counseling. It furthermore introduced a wide range of community placement
options for juveniles and children. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,
2000, though passed with good intentions, overlooked the inclusion of certain substantive and
procedural due process rights.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/55401/10/10_chapter%201.pdf
2. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/21219/1/10%20chapter-3.pdf
3. http://childlineindia.org.in/child-abuse-child-violence-india.htm
4. https://legalbeagle.com/4922973-what-cause-effect-juvenile-delinquency.html
5. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/140952/8/08_chapter%203.pdf
6. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/131965/19/19_conclusion%20and%20s
uggestion.pdf
7. The Children of Neglect: When No One Cares:- By Margaret G. Smith, Rowena Fong.
8. Juvenile Justice– Care And Protection Of Children Act, 2000:- by Nizam Azeez Sait

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