Amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act

  • The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. 

OFFENCES CATEGORY

  • Heinous offence: where there is a minimum punishment of 7 years imprisonment under any existing law. 
  • Serious offence: where imprisonment of 3 to 7 years. 
  • Petty offence: where there is a maximum of 3 years imprisonment.

CHANGES BY THE 2015 LAW

  • Juvenile Justice(Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 defined a juvenile or a child as – any person below 18 years of age.
  • Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act, 2015 defines a juvenile or child as – any person below 18 years of age.
  • In 2015, the central government enacted a new version of the law, which provided a special provisions to deal with children in the age group of 16-18 years in cases of heinous offences.
  • The 2015 act provides for minors in the age group of 16 to 18, to be treated as adults by the law, in case of heinous crimes.

THE CURRENT AMENDMENT
  • The new amendment lays down the eligibility for the appointment of members of the Child Welfare Committees. 
  • The definition of children in need of care and protection will be modified. 
  • It will include those children who have been victims of trafficking or drug abuse or child labour and also children who have been abandoned by their guardians.
  • The district magistrate and the additional district magistrate will have increased powers to monitor the functions of agencies responsible for implementation of the Act.
  • The amendment will add one more category of crime to the “Serious offences” list. 
  • It will include offences where the sentence is more than 7 years but no minimum sentence is prescribed; or a minimum sentence of less than 7 years is provided.

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