In 1986, the Juvenile Justice Act was passed to treat, develop, provide care and protection, rehabilitate delinquent or neglected children that also involved the adjudication of such matters relating to the disposition of the juveniles. Under this Act, a boy below the age of 16 years and a girl below the age of 18 years were treated as juvenile. Juvenile Court shouldn’t be Abolished
Later on, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 was passed that raised the age of a boy to 18 years. It also states that children who are in need of care and protection should be sent to a children home and a juvenile in any conflict of law be sent to an observation home. The maximum detention that can be given to a juvenile is just 3 years. Section 17 of this Act immunes a juvenile from any punishment under the criminal law. In 2015, an amendment was brought to this Act that tried the children of age 16-18 as adults if they had committed an offense that was heinous in nature.
The purpose of having a juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate the delinquents instead of punishing them for the criminal behavior they exhibit. A lot of critics of the juvenile justice courts have said that this system should be abolished as it fails to rehabilitate the children and does not punish the children that commit serious criminal offenses. The people who defend the juvenile justice system say that this system should not be abolished as it addresses the problems that occur among children. This system makes sure that there is a positive change in the behavior of the children who had committed a crime. Juvenile Court shouldn’t be Abolished
The basic underlying assumption behind the juvenile justice system is that the children who commit offenses should not go through what the adult offenders go through. The juvenile system was created for handling the offenders on the basis of their age and not crimes. The juvenile justice system is of the view to provide guidance and treatment instead of a punishment. Some states have considered treating children as adults in cases of serious offenses whereas some states have totally abolished the juvenile justice system. Juvenile Court shouldn’t be Abolished
I personally believe that the juvenile justice system should not be abolished as the children have a much higher chance of rehabilitation than adults. Instead of abolishing the whole system, a few reforms should be made to the juvenile system. It can be proved by the arguments that I have stated against the abolition.
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