Open letter to the Prime Minister of India on Juvenile Justice Bill

As you are aware, that Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has proposed that juvenile offenders aged between 16-18, if accused of a range of crimes defined by the in the Bill as ‘heinous crimes’ would be subjected to an expert evaluation under aegis of the juvenile justice board, and if the board deems it fit, they would be tried under the Code of Criminal Procedure rather than the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.

This proposal of the JJ Bill 2014, would be a violation of the Constitution of India, besides endangering the future of India’s children. Several expert bodies of the government including the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC), the Supreme Court,  the National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and a number of State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights, have opposed the proposal to try children as adults.

In fact, the PSC report specifically highlights that this far-reaching legislative proposal is not backed by any data of the National Crime Records Bureau, which in contrast suggests that juvenile crime rate  is a mere 1.2% of total crimes reported.

Sending young people to prison is not the answer to the safety of women in India. Women’s organizations of repute, which include All India Democratic Women’s Association, and Jagori and others have stated this fact. It would however, definitely increase is the number of children in jails, destroyed childhoods, and will for sure produce more hardened criminals.

The new Bill writes off certain children, denying them the opportunity to reform and a second chance at life. This is unjust as official data tells us that almost 80% of children who commit crimes come from very underprivileged backgrounds with incomes less than Rs.50,000/- per year, and with very low education levels.

The evidence from countries like United States of America makes it clear that trying children as adults does not work. Re-offence was found to be higher among those who have exited an adult prison facility as compared to those who have been in reformatory facilities for children.

If children are not permitted to vote, drive or marry, as they are deemed immature, incapable of making prudent decisions, and easily manipulated, the same logic must continue to apply to give them protection and separate treatment in the child justice system.

We ask of you… Why then, is your government so adamant on passing the anti-child, persecutory JJ Bill 2014? When you spoke on teacher’s day and asked our school children to work hard and dream big they believed in you and your vision for India. Majority of these children will turn into first-time voters by 2020.

As the ProChild coalition, we have tried all means of trying to make our voice heard, we petitioned the MWCD, launched an online campaign #noprisonforchildren which received an encouraging response despite the widely held myth about juveniles committing more crimes or getting away with brutal crimes. We now write to you in despair, requesting you to ensure that the Government of India continues to extend protection to all individuals under the age of 18 years, under the juvenile justice system, as has been implemented in the country since 2000, and for which, the nation has been lauded internationally.

Please stop the JJ Bill 2014 from becoming a law before it is too late. We look forward to a prompt response from you.

In anticipation,

The ProChild coalition

prochildnetwork@gmail.com

Disclaimer: This piece has been written by ProChild Coalition, a network of individuals and organisations working for child rights.