New Delhi: A special ‘National Consultation’ was organized by the Supreme Court on Saturday. The main objective of this program was to conduct a detailed assessment of the implementation and effectiveness of the ‘Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015’ in the last decade. Along with this, the future priorities are to be outlined for comprehensive protection of children and further strengthening of the Juvenile Justice System in the coming years.
‘In the spirit of the law, children are children, not criminals’ – Chief Justice Surya Kant
Chief Justice of India addressing the inauguration ceremony suryakant said, “I congratulate the Juvenile Justice Committee of the Supreme Court led by Justice Nagarathna and UNICEF for bringing together all of us on one platform to mark the completion of 10 years of this historic law. The basic objective of this Act is children, not criminals. While enacting the law, Parliament had clearly directed in 2015 that no adversarial or accusatory words should be used in any legal process involving children.”
Juvenile Justice Act 2015 and its legal provisions
Chief Justice suryakant further clarified that the Act of 2015 recognizes that if a child is given a second chance to reform, his chances of becoming a responsible and productive citizen of the society increase significantly. This does not at all mean that serious crimes will be completely exempted. The law also provides for trial of heinous crimes committed by juveniles aged 16 to 18 years as adults after a thorough initial investigation of their mental capacity and circumstances.
Importance of corrective justice and social investigation report
Referring to ‘Restorative Justice’, the CJI said that this principle demands that the juvenile who has committed any mistake or harm should understand his responsibility and cooperate in his reformation. Instead of ignoring the harm caused, this law reminds us that the person facing the law is still a child. For this purpose, provision of trained police officers, board members and detailed ‘Social Investigation Report’ has been made mandatory in every case.
Call to create dedicated Legal Defense Council wing for children
In his address, the Chief Justice termed the ‘Social Investigation Report’ as the most important document, which makes the Board aware of the real situation and background of the juvenile. They NALSA Appreciated the ‘Child-Friendly Legal Services Scheme’ of 2024, under which there is a provision of lawyers in police stations and legal services clinics in the boards.
Along with this, he made a special request to the legal services institutions and said, “I would appeal to the legal services institutions to consider creating a separate and dedicated wing of defense counsel trained to protect the rights of children. This will enable every child to have a dedicated lawyer from the very first hour of police custody, providing them with continuous legal support from the police station till the final judicial order and rehabilitation.”
