Juvenile Justice Act: Reduction of Age from 18 to 16.

1482 Words6 Pages
JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT: REDUCTION OF AGE FROM 18 TO 16. Children today have been recognized as prime assets of our nation. In a country like ours with a working population of more than 60%, the government through its various policies looks forward towards nurturing children considering it as its prime responsibility. But with growing globalization and changes in our social structure, there is a rise in number of juvenile delinquents. According to various sociologists, delinquency is a kind of abnormality, when a juvenile (i.e. and individual below the age of 18), deviates from the course of normal life, he/she is said to ne delinquent juvenile or a juvenile in conflict with law. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, juvenile offenders constituted 1-2% of total offenders since 2000 and this rate is on a steady rise. With this came a need to review the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 and reconsidering the age of being a major. Gone are those days when you could rightfully call a child “innocent” or “naïve”. Children today with influences from various factors have attained majority way before than 18. You can see children at the age of 15-16 hurling abuses, committing thefts, murders, rapes, basically all those crimes which one doesn’t think that innocent little children can. With a growing materialistic approach towards life and encouragement by society towards sex, there is need to reduce the age. It is really shocking to see that young boys of 16 and 17 rape women, harass them, snatch chains and even are involved in illegal activities like gambling and drug addictions! If such a minor is tried under the Juvenile Justice Act, he would get away with a maximum sentence of just 3 years no matter how gruesome the crime is, violating Article 14 (equality before law). The law is being used as a blanket to cover delinquent

More about Juvenile Justice Act: Reduction of Age from 18 to 16.

Open Document