Volume 13 | Issue 1

 Abstract

On May 19, 2024, two young software engineers died untimely by a speeding Porsche car driven by an allegedly intoxicated 17-and-a-half-year-old minor in Pune. The investigation in this case revealed elaborate attempts by the family, doctors, police, and local politicians to cover up the crime committed by a teenager who is the only heir to the family fortunes, which runs in several hundred crores. An uproar on social media and protests on the streets of Pune ultimately forced the authorities to probe the case on the basis of the First Information Report (FIR) lodged by friends. The minor was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board which kept aside the request of the Police to try the boy as an adult. Also, within 15 hours, the Juvenile Justice Board also granted conditional bail to the minor and was asked to work with the 'Yerawada traffic police for 15 days, write a 300-word essay on the accident, get treatment to quit drinking and to seek psychiatric counselling'. Two days later, following a public outcry over these conditions, the Juvenile Justice Board cancelled the bail and remanded the minor to an Observation Home until June 5, 2024 which was further extended till June 12, 2024. The above case-text is a gist of an article written by Vishvajeet Ghoshal, Co-Founder of Children Unbound Foundation and former Joint Secretary & Director (Projects) of Prayas JAC published in thepressindia.in where he explains that "Beyond the criticism and uproar over Juvenile Justice Board's direction, the issue needs to be seen in the larger legal context, as the underlying philosophy of the Juvenile Justice Act is different from the Criminal Justice System. The accused minor is four months short of becoming an 'adult'. The directions of the JJ Board were in the context of the 'process' to be followed for 'adjudication and disposal of matters in the best interest of the children', setting up a system distinct from the adult criminal justice system for apprehension, detention, prosecution, penalty, imprisonment, rehabilitation and social reintegration of children in conflict with law'. The basic tenet of the JJ Act is to focus on rehabilitation and social reintegration of the child rather than punishment".

Licence: creative commons attribution 4.0

  License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition

 Keywords

"PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT UNDER JUVENILE JUSTICE (CARE AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN) ACT, 2015: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY"

  License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 and The Open Definition