Life was never the same again for 16-year-old Jitesh Sen (name changed) after he spent a month in jail with a bunch of adult criminals. The police caught him for theft in the Sealdah area of Calcutta. It took more than a month for the cops to get an ossification test done, which eventually proved that Jitesh was a juvenile. And only then was he sent to a juvenile home. But by then, the boy had become more violent and stubborn, thereby lowering his chances for reform and correction.
Jitesh is not alone. There are many juveniles in conflict with the law who have been mistaken as adults and thrown into adult jails by the police. “Juvenile delinquents are often arrested and sent to jails. They are sent to juvenile homes only later, but by then their exposure to adult criminals reduce their chances of reform,” says Calcutta-based lawyer Debasish Banerjee, who deals with juvenile cases.
And that’s the reason the Supreme Court passed an interim order in October last year, directing states to set up juvenile police units in every district as per Section 63 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. The order says that these police officers should “frequently or exclusively deal with juveniles” or should be primarily engaged in the prevention of juvenile crime or handling of juveniles. This interim order was passed while hearing a case (Sampurna Behra vs Union of India) that sought strict implementation of the JJ Act.
The JJ Act stipulates that when a juvenile is charged with an offence, he or she should be produced before a juvenile justice board to hold the inquiry in accordance with the provisions of this law. Unfortunately, neither the law nor the Supreme Court order in this regard is being taken seriously in most parts of the country.
In West Bengal, for example, there is not a single juvenile police unit, reveals Banerjee. “And that’s one of the reasons it takes longer to establish that the offender is a juvenile,” he adds.
Government officials in West Bengal, however, say that the juvenile justice system in the state is perfectly on track. “There are juvenile justice boards and child welfare committees in every district in the state,” asserts T. Kumar, principal secretary, women and child development and social welfare department, West Bengal. “Police officers are also designated to handle juvenile cases. Since the police officers get transferred to other departments, there is an impression that the juvenile police units don’t function. But these posts never remain vacant and the work doesn’t suffer.”
