How can a juvenile be tried as an adult in Court?

Subject : Polity

Section: Msc

Concept :

The National Commission for Protection of Children (NCPCR) has recently issued guidelines for conducting a preliminary assessment by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) under Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (JJ Act, 2015)

Key Details

This preliminary assessment is to ascertain whether a juvenile can be tried as an adult.
The 2015 Act, for the first time, provided for trying juveniles in the age group of 16-18 as adults in cases of heinous offences.
The sole objective of having such a preliminary assessment is to determine whether a child within the age group of 16-18 years should be tried as an adult in case of heinous offences.

How does a child get tried as adult?

The Act has categorised the offences committed by children into three categories:
petty offences,
serious offences, and
heinous offences.
The JJ Act provides that in case of a heinous offence alleged to have been committed by a child, who has completed or is above the age of sixteen years, the Board shall conduct a preliminary assessment regarding:
his mental and physical capacity to commit such offence,
ability to understand the consequences of the offence and
the circumstances in which he allegedly committed the offence.
If the Board, after preliminary assessment passes an order that there is a need for trial of the said child as an adult, then the Board may order the transfer of the case to the Children’s Court having jurisdiction to try such offences.

Responsibilities of the Board

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) shall be responsible for the preliminary assessment.
In case the JJB does not have at least one member who is a practising professional with a degree in child psychology or child psychiatry, the Board shall take the assistance of psychologists or experts who have the experience of working with children in difficult times.
The child should also be provided with a legal aid counsel through the District Legal Services Authority who shall be present during the preliminary assessment.
The Act mandates experts, who have the required qualification to assist the JJB, to undergo training.
During the preliminary assessment, the Board and experts shall also analyse and take into consideration the Social Investigation Report (SIR) or a Social Background Report (SBR) to be prepared after interaction with the child or child’s family.
It will be prepared by the Probation officer or Child Welfare Officer or any social worker.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) 2015

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act was introduced and passed in Parliament in 2015 to replace the Juvenile Delinquency Law and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) 2000.
Main Provisions:
Allowing the trial of juveniles in conflict with law in the age group of 16-18 years as adults, in cases where the crimes were to be determined.
The nature of the crime, and whether the juvenile should be tried as a minor or a child, was to be determined by a Juvenile Justice Board.
Another major provision was with regards to adoption, bringing a more universally acceptable adoption law instead of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956) and Guardians of the ward Act (1890) which was for Muslims, although the Act did not replace these laws.
The Act streamlined adoption procedures for orphans, abandoned and surrendered children and the existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has been given the status of a statutory body to enable it to perform its function more effectively.