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12 J. Indian L. & Soc'y 1 (2021)
Re-Examining India's Juvenile Justice Framework: A Call to Recognize a Juvenile's Mitigated Culpability and Potential for Reform

handle is hein.journals/jindlas12 and id is 19 raw text is: RE-EXAMINING INDIA S JUVENILE JUSTICE FRAMEWORK: A CALL TO RECOGNIZE A JUVENILE'S MITIGATED CULPABILITY AND POTENTIAL FOR REFORM -ANSHUL RAHUL DALMIA* & STUTI S. KOKKALERA** The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2015 was introduced with the intention of strengthening the Indian juvenile justice system. The law, passed primarily in response to the Nirbhaya incident in 2012, was intended to propagate the welfare and rehabilitation of chil- dren in conflict with the law. However, certain provisions of the legis- lation governing juvenile justice, are antithetical to its stated intentions, since they focus on the nature of the alleged offence. Specifically, the trans- fer mechanism that allows 16 to 18-year-olds to be tried as adults based on the offence alleged is contrary to our understanding of adolescence as a period of transition. Moreover, while the principle of 'fresh start' that would expunge juvenile records is well-intentioned, the exception of 'spe- cial circumstances' circumvents the ability of juveniles to fully reintegrate post-justice system involvement. Both these provisions represent a deter- rence framework model which presumes that juveniles are able to ration- alize their decisions in the same way as adults. This paper expands on the critiques of these provisions and provides alternate options for the preven- tion of juvenile crime and treatment of juveniles already in contact with the justice system. These suggestions are rooted in social scientific research that calls for recognizing the situational circumstances of adolescents and their rehabilitative potential. Fourth Year student pursuing the BA LLB (Hons) Course at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences. PhD (Northeastern University), BA, LLB, LLM. This author is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Sam Houston State University (Huntsville, TX). We would like to thank the Editorial Board of the Journal of Indian Law and Society for their constant help and to an anonymous referee for their invaluable comments and insights. Shortcomings, if any, are however solely attributable to the authors. Please feel free to contact us at anshuldalmia@nujs.edu and sxko78@shsu.edu respectively for any constructive feedback.

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