Juvenile Delinquency In India

Sahil Afnan S, School of Law, Presidency University, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION TO JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

1.1 INTRODUCTION:

Children are believed to be the key determinant in the development of any nation. They are also the ones who determine the future of the world and the bellwether of society. Children are the future of our country and it is everyone's responsibility to ensure that they have a safe place to live and a healthy environment to develop. But over the past decade there has been a dramatic rise in child crime in a developing country like India. The civilized men of the future are totally dependent upon today’s burgeoning children. It can easily be seen that the future of the country is at great risk once the children get involved in atrocious crimes. Juvenile delinquency is the phrase used to describe the criminal acts of minor offenders.1 It is one of the serious issue which almost all the societies of the world are facing. In India, the rate of crime committed by the minors is increasing at a startling rate that is disturbing and dangerous to the public interest, therefore, it has now become requisite to find the remedies to avoid the risk of juvenile delinquency. Juvenile crimes have set off to be so usual that they uplift serious concern in the nation. Children as we know them are vulnerable groups in society that need a lot of care and protection. It is important to note that because of their vulnerability, there is a chance that these children may be abused and directed into a ditch that is not wanted by the environment Therefore, a child cannot be held responsible for his or her criminal activities. A child who breaks the law may be considered as a child who has allegedly committed or violated some law, under which his or her act of commission or omission becomes an offence. In other words when a child's actions appear to be harmful to society and to him, he may be called a juvenile delinquent.2 The act of delinquency may comprise running away from house, use of inappropriate or vulgar languages, robbery, committing sexual offences etc.