Juvenile Delinquency and Evolution of Juvenile Justice in India
NMIMS Kirit P Mehta School of Law
Volume III, Issue IV, 2020
The level of maturity, physical and mental competence and experiences of an individual is something that differentiates a child from an adult. Children are highly vulnerable to fall a prey to temptations by groups to embark on the track of delinquency. When these young minds follow the wrong direction, they can hamper the social command of our organized society and lead to destruction of morals. Various observations have shown that there exist dynamic factors that influence a child’s mind during their upbringing. Factors like poverty, lack of education, drug abuse, discrimination by the society etc can act as an inspiration for them to choose the path of criminality. The recent past has shown a significant increase in juvenile offences all around the globe and has raised major concerns. When we look at juvenile psychology, there is a need for care, correct counselling and rehabilitation for juvenile offenders and the same can be done with the help of various legal provisions and actions taken by the government. Through this article the author tries to explain how Juvenile Delinquency has now become a serious issue for the society and an important aspect in criminology. The same is done by highlighting various factors influencing juvenile crimes and important legal provisions governing Juvenile Delinquency in India.
Keywords: Juvenile, Delinquency, Social Factors, Psychological Factors, Biological Factors, Juvenile Justice Act, Juvenile Justice System.