Minors Tried As Adults: Shahabaz Murder Case And Juvenile Justice
Kozhikode, Kerala: The age limit for considering a person as minor or juvenile is often a debated topic in India. As per Indian Majority Act of 1875, a person under the age of 18 is considered as a minor in India. In several cases, juveniles commit heinous crimes and escape punishment with the relief provided by the law. Recently, following the murder of a Class 10 student, Shahabaz, in Kerala’s Thamarassery, in a gang clash, the Juvenile Board’s decision to allow the accused to write exam ignited huge clamour in the state.
The 15-year-old Shahabaz has lost his life in a clash between students of MJ Higher Secondary School, Elettil Vattoli, and GVHSS Thamarassery following a dispute. He has endured heavy fractures on his skull. Police have arrested six students, accused of being involved in the clash. The students were found to have used sharp weapons such as nunchucks.
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Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
On Wednesday (March 5), Delhi police stated that seven out of 62 juveniles accused involved in heinous crimes in the capital city will be tried as adults under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The Act was then passed amidst intense controversy, debate, and protest by the Child Rights fraternity over many of its provisions. As per the act, juveniles can be tried as adults for heinous crimes after conducting an assessment by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).
Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer north) Nidhin Valsan said that a total of 62 juveniles, aged between 16 and 18, have been identified for their involvement in heinous crimes, including robbery, snatching, murder, attempted murder, and other grave offences.
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The police, considering the gravity of the crimes, followed legal procedures and submitted applications before the court requesting that these juveniles need to be prosecuted as adults considering the heinous nature of their crimes. “Upon consideration, seven juveniles will now be tried as adults under the law, ensuring they are held fully accountable for their actions,” Times of India quoted DCP.
The accused juveniles to be tried as adults have been reported for committing crimes such as physical assaults and murder. In one case, a few boys approached a 22-year-old man and attacked him at a bus stand. The boys beat the man with a sharp object near his left arm and shoulder, and the police later detained the accused as juveniles.
In another case, police found the involvement of a juvenile in a case in which a 55-year-old man was shot on New Narela-Bawana Road in June 2024. Another case reported in the same month, wherein a man was allegedly stabbed to death by three boys in northwest Delhi’s Siraspur. Three juveniles were detained in the case.
As per the law, JJB assesses the juvenile’s mental and physical capacity to commit the crime, including their comprehension of the consequences of the crime and the circumstances surrounding the crime. However, a child cannot be tried as an adult without a preliminary assessment and report by the JJB.
Rising Juvenile Crime Rates In India
According to data from the Independent Research Organization, PRS India, the number of juvenile crimes have been increased sharply in the country. Juvenile crimes between 2010 and 2014 rose by 47 per cent, forced the country to pass the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, permitting minors in the age group of 16-18 to be tried as adults, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) observes.
Apart from Shahabaz’s case, there have been multiple recent incidents where juveniles were involved in serious crimes for silly reasons. Last December alone, several cases were reported wherein minors were involved in heinous crimes. Meerut, a 17-year-old boy, bludgeoned his best friend to death for blackmailing his girlfriend with personal photographs. In Gorakhpur, another 17-year-old student of Class 12 killed his mother in a fit of rage. In another incident, a 12-year-old strangled a fellow student in an elite New Delhi school for a silly reason. Netizens and public in social media have been demanding need for reforms in the juvenile law to deal with teenage crimes.
