Latest news with #JuvenileJusticeAct
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Cannot equate poverty, humble origins with criminal propensity: HC
In a scathing critique of judicial stereotyping of individuals from socio-economically deprived backgrounds, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Thursday held that justice system must guard against equating poverty or humble origins with criminal propensity. The court made the observation while granting bail to a juvenile, booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 after 39.73 kg ganja was recovered from him. The order overturned the decisions of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and the Additional Sessions Judge, Ambala. The juvenile, who was under 18 at the time of the incident, has been in custody since May 30, 2023, following his arrest in Narangarh, Ambala. According to the First Information Report dated May 30, 2023, police intercepted a motorbike cart driven by the petitioner, with his aunt as the pillion rider. A search of the cart revealed three bags containing 39.73 kg of ganja. Lower courts had denied bail, pointing to the juvenile's residence in a slum and lack of parental care. The Juvenile Justice Board said the boy had been influenced by 'bad company' and noted his upbringing in a slum area. The Sessions Judge stated: 'The juvenile-appellant is aged about 18 years and he has developed enough maturity to understand the difference between commission of crime and commission of good deeds in the interest of society. So, he needs to be kept under the observation home.' The high court, while hearing the juvenile's plea, rejected this approach, saying: 'To equate poverty or humble origins with criminal propensity is a fallacy that our justice system must scrupulously guard against.' He added that such assumptions 'undermine the intrinsic dignity and the overall value system of those citizens who reside in less privileged habitats.' The court underlined that close-knit communities in low-income neighbourhoods often provide 'warmth, support, mutual care, emotional sustenance, and a sense of belonging,' which institutional settings like observation homes cannot match. Another key factor in the court's decision was the juvenile's prolonged custody. 'The petitioner has been in custody since 30th May 2023, and the maximum sentence that can be imposed is three years. The petitioner has already undergone about two years of sentence i.e., more than half of the maximum sentence. Hence, on this very ground as well, the petitioner is entitled to bail,' the court said. The order also addressed the juvenile's family circumstances, rejecting the lower courts' view that his orphaned status, his father deceased and mother having abandoned him, was a valid reason to deny bail. 'To view orphaned as a disqualification for bail is to disregard the very spirit of the Juvenile Justice Act, which recognizes the right of every child to be cared for by the community and the State,' the court said. 'Such a child deserves greater compassion and support, and not prolonged detention in the observation homes.' Citing Article 14 of the Constitution, the court pointed out that the youngster's aunt had already been granted bail in January 2023, and keeping the juvenile in custody while she was free would amount to a 'gross travesty of justice.' The judge concluded that granting bail would give the child 'another chance to course-correct, reform, and reintegrate into the community with an ideal and law-abiding citizen so that he can spend the rest of his life as a respected and dignified individual.' The ruling, the court said, is meant only to decide the bail application and guide similar cases involving children in conflict with law.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Stalin releases TN Transgender Policy
M K Stalin CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu on Thursday launched a state policy for transgender people to ensure their rights in education, employment, healthcare, housing, and safety. The state will also take steps to amend Hindu Succession Act and India Succession Act to ensure right of inheritance for transgenders. The policy says transgenders will be treated as socially and educationally most disadvantaged and would be give preference in housing schemes. Steps would be taken to amend Juvenile Justice Act and other relevant acts to address concerns of gender non-conforming persons, said the policy. The state will operate a round-the-clock helpline for gender-related queries. TN has been a pioneer in introducing welfare measures for transgenders, from setting up a Transgender Welfare Board to providing a dignified nomenclature – 'Thirunangai and Thirunambi' to them. TN was also the first state to provide a third gender option in college application forms alongside male and female. On Thursday, chief minister M K Stalin , who resumed official duties after his discharge from hospital, launched the state policy. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai The policy is a boon for the transgender community and addresses several critical issues,'' said Priya Babu, founder of the Transgender Resource Centre. The only shortcoming is that the policy doesn't explicitly mention reservation for transgenders, though it states that the state will take necessary steps to ensure their appropriate representation in educational institutions and govt employment, Priya Babu said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Stylish New Mobility Scooters Available for Seniors (Prices May Surprise You) Mobility Scooter | Search Ads Search Now Undo Currently, transgenders are provided reservation under MBC, but the Karnataka govt provides an exclusive 1% reservation for them. 'We need an exclusive reservation like in Karnataka,' Priya Babu added. Earlier, Stalin distributed laptops and certificates of appreciation to 135 Adidravida and tribal students who gained admission to institutes across the country. 'The first event I took part in was a delightful one. I was moved by their passion for education, their journey of education, and their rise from the most disadvantaged and suffering families," Stalin tweeted. He then inaugurated buildings for the police, fire service and the prisons department. Appointment orders were also given to 40 employees selected for the prohibition and excise department.
Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Indian Express
Dowry cruelty and legal apathy: Why India still loses one woman every hour
A recent report from Rampur district in Uttar Pradesh highlighted how a few individuals continue to exercise their entitlement to dowry. A man was caught on camera holding his eight-month-old son upside down and violently parading him around the village for about half an hour to pressurise his in-laws into giving in to his demand of Rs 2 lakh in cash along with a new car. The child suffered a hip injury. The wife has already been subjected to violence for years. Subjecting an infant to this kind of cruelty is a new low in the impenitent greed for dowry. Parallel to this is the much highlighted suicide of techie Subhash Atul, allegedly abetted by his estranged wife's harassment and extortion through the filing of false cases of dowry harassment and domestic violence. The case sparked national outrage at the growing misuse of the laws intended to protect women. Without prejudice to the merit of Atul's case, there is no denying the fact that a silent, incessant brutalising of lakhs of women, on account of dowry demands, is still taking place around the country. Counselling and mediation by the police and family courts is an encouraging institutionalised intervention that helps lakhs of families. But there is a large number of marriages marked by extreme violence and torture, which need stronger intervention. The refrain, however, even in the most serious cases, where the physical abuse shows ample evidence in a medical examination of the victim, is that the police are doing nothing. The police take the flak for what is a glaring lacuna in the law. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) defines 'cruelty' against a woman by her husband or his relatives as 'any wilful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand.' The stipulated punishment for the commission of the said crime is imprisonment for up to three years and imposition of a fine. Similarly, assault and abuse of a child by someone entrusted with her care and protection entails a punishment of up to three years, as per the Juvenile Justice Act. A punishment of less than seven years puts these crimes outside the threshold of automatic arrest, as per the directives of the Supreme Court. In theory, arrest is not entirely impossible in crimes punishable with less than seven years of imprisonment. The reasons for the need to arrest can be recorded by the Investigating Officer in the case diaries to make a plea to the court. However, the experience on the ground is that rarely do police investigators display such a nuanced and sensitive approach to case documentation, nor does the magistrate concerned accord any weightage to the aggravating circumstances of a particular case, which demand the husband to be put away for some time to safeguard the victim and create a fear of the law. When it finally results in the wife's suicide or death in unnatural circumstances, commonly dubbed as 'dowry death,' it invites a penalty of at least seven years imprisonment, extendable to life and immediate arrest of the husband. It is almost as if the law is baiting adamantly abusive men to push the thresholds of cruelty till the death of the wife, for until then, there is little the system will do to stop them. It is, thus, no surprise that India still records, on average, about one dowry death every 1.2 hours. It is interesting to find out why the same laws against domestic cruelty and dowry harassment that fail to control the crime in rural, small and medium towns are increasingly misused against men in more urban and educated pockets. The answer appears to lie in the broad demographic differences. While arrest may not be an immediate threat, an educated person employed in the formal economy has much to lose with a FIR registered against them. But those employed in informal sectors are more immune to such repercussions. Aware, educated women also have the wherewithal to exert pressure on the husband, and pursue their cases with the police and the courts via independent lawyers, mounting fear. Rural and less educated women, on the other hand, are often financially and socially dependent on their husbands, with little or no support even from their own families. As a natural corollary, the offence of cruelty by husband sees one of the lowest conviction rates of a mere 15 per cent, despite constituting the largest quantum of reported crimes against women. Lack of resources to pursue protracted trials, absence of dedicated courts, inherent behavioural and legal biases in the criminal justice system, and the difficulty of proving the allegations compel millions of women to 'settle' the cases for paltry sums of money or by learning to live with recurrent abuse. The seriousness of the scale of domestic violence, affecting lakhs of women, must not be undermined merely because it doesn't cause sensation as cases of rape or murder do. Rather, the sheer number of cases forces us to think about the existing lacunae in the criminal justice system. Courts must carefully scrutinise the aggravating circumstances meriting arrest when the woman or children concerned are unable to get away from the abuser and where the abuse is recorded in the medical examination of the victims. Infrastructure and capacity of District One Stop Centres, run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, must be expanded, and the referral of serious cases of abuse from police stations to OSCs, to remove women and children out of harm's way, must be institutionalised. Women Welfare Committees along the lines of Child Welfare Committees ought to be established at District level for providing immediate succour to women in extreme distress — a basic allowance for sustenance, shelter, medical help, counselling, legal guidance, and some impactful form of rehabilitation, especially employment, with the support of local NGOs, business associations, government departments and prominent citizens, and regular follow up in cases where the victim eventually returns to her husband post mediation or counselling. The law must find ways of shielding both the endlessly abused as well as the indisputably innocent. The writer is an IPS officer. Views expressed are personal
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
World Day Against Trafficking: Telangana pushes for time-bound justice for trafficked children
Despite stronger laws and expansion of rescue efforts, a disturbing gap between rescue and prosecution continues to plague India's fight against human trafficking, especially when it comes to children. This warning echoed across two major events held in Hyderabad to mark the World Day Against Trafficking, as law enforcement officials, members of civil society groups and policymakers called for urgent, time-bound prosecution and stronger coordination among institutions. At a State-level consultation organised by Just Rights for Children (JRC) along with the Women Safety Wing and Telangana State Legal Services Authority, officials reviewed the current legal and policy framework related to human trafficking in India, called for inter-agency coordination and advocated for a time-bound action plan. The Legal Services Authority signed an MoU with JRC's partner, the Association for Voluntary Action, to ensure faster justice, legal support, rehabilitation and compensation for victims. Between April 2024 and April 2025, the JRC network of 250 NGOs in 418 districts rescued 56,242 trafficked children and initiated over 38,000 legal actions across India. In Telangana alone, 12 JRC partner organisations have rescued more than 44,000 children since 2023, including over 19,000 from trafficking and labour. However, legal action was pursued in only 12,175 of those cases, underlining the troubling enforcement gap. Crimes against children and women demand deeper understanding. It is crucial that all stakeholders undergo consistent capacity building, said Kothkota Seetha Dayakar Reddy, chairperson of the Telangana State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights. Telangana Legal Services Authority member-secretary Panchakshari said that while laws like Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, Juvenile Justice Act and Right To Education are in place to safeguard children, gaps in implementation persist. 'To end trafficking, we must focus on early reporting and proactive identification of such cases,' the official said. 'Need for stakeholder collaboration' Anti-trafficking organisation Prajwala also hosted an awareness event at the KLN Auditorium, Red Hills, to drive public and institutional commitment against sex trafficking and cyber-enabled exploitation. Chief guest and Minister for Women and Child Welfare D. Seethakka emphasised the critical need for multi-stakeholder collaboration, calling for unified approach from government agencies, civil society and the public at large. The Minister felicitated eight 'Anti-Trafficking Champions' from judiciary, police, survivors community and grassroot workers who were a part of combating trafficking and supporting victims. Additional Director General (Law and Order) Mahesh M. Bhagwat highlighted the importance of victim-centric policing, timely intervention and sustained rehabilitation, noting that collaborative models like that of Prajwala and law enforcement agencies can serve as a blueprint for effective anti-trafficking responses nationwide. Women and Child Development department secretary Anitha Ramachandran emphasised the importance of empowering Anganwadi workers with the knowledge and tools to identify trafficking indicators while Divya Devarajan, chief executive officer of Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty, spoke about the sensitisation of Village Organisation Assistants on human trafficking, enabling grassroots-level vigilance and early identification of vulnerable individuals. Venkata Narsamma, joint director of Samagra Shiksha, highlighted the State-wide initiative to train school teachers in identifying and responding to trafficking risks among children.
Time of India
a day ago
- Time of India
Gang held with MDMA while travelling with children to evade police
Thiruvananthapuram: Four persons, who were travelling in a car with three children to evade police checking, were arrested with 500gm of MDMA worth Rs 40 lakh in an operation conducted by district anti-narcotics special action force (Dansaf) team on Wednesday evening at Kovalam Junction. The accused were transporting the drug from Bengaluru. Based on a tip-off, the Dansaf team intercepted the car. They initially claimed that they were returning from Kanyakumari after a trip. However, during examination, police seized the drug from the car. According to police, the children, who are under the age of 10, belong to the woman who was part of the gang. The Dansaf team later handed over the children to Childline officials. The accused would also be charged under a section of Juvenile Justice Act for using the children to smuggle the drug, the police said. The arrested men were identified by police as Syam, 35, of Vattiyoorkavu, Sanjay, 26, of Rajaji Nagar and Muhammed Noufal, 23, of Aryanad. The arrested woman's husband is working in the Gulf region. The three men are accused in several other NDPS cases as well. Kovalam police registered a case under sections 22 (b), 20 (B) IIA and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act-1985.
