Juvenile justice board in Gurugram has tried 38 juveniles as adults since January 2016

The Juvenile Justice Board on Monday ruled that the accused in the murder of a student in private school will be tried as an adult, police say the verdict will act as a deterrent in such cases.

The Juvenile Justice Board on Monday ruled that the accused in the murder of a student in private school will be tried as an adult, police say the verdict will act as a deterrent in such cases

Police officers take the juvenile accused, who was apprehended on charges of killing a Class 2 student at a private school, to court. (HT File Photo)

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in Gurugram has tried 38 juveniles since January 2016 as adults ever since the Juvenile Justice Act (JJ) 2016 was amended.

Trials in 31 cases are on while convictions have taken place in seven cases.

This year, three appeals were filed in the children’s special court, Gurugram, by family members of suspects after the JJB treated them as adults. The court upheld the orders of the JJB in two cases.

In the latest development, the 16-year-old juvenile accused, who was apprehended by the CBI on November 7, 2017, on charges of killing a Class 2 student at a private school, will be tried as an adult.

The JJ Act, which allows children aged 16 to 18 years and in conflict with law to be tried as adults in cases of heinous offences, came into force in January 2016.

The police said juveniles are still not aware that they could be tried as adults. “They commit crimes thinking they will easily walk out after three years. After the recent cases, where these juveniles are treated as adults, the number of crimes could come down. It is important to take strict action against them,” DCP (Crime) Sumit Kuhar said.

The seven cases where the juveniles were convicted include murder, rape and dacoity.

According to the JJB, crimes involving juveniles have increased over the years — graduating from snatching to more heinous crimes.

According to the JJB members, Section 2(33) of JJ Act is about heinous offences. Offences punishable not less than seven years or more than seven years fall under the category of heinous crimes.

Cases under Section 302(murder) , 397(snatching) of the IPC and section 4 and 6 of POCSO Act also fall under heinous offences.

“The increasing involvement of juveniles in crimes has today become a cause of concern. A tough law was essentially required hence, in the backdrop that juvenile crimes registered under the IPC rose 47% from 22,740 cases in 2010 to 33,526 cases in 2014,” said Anupam Singla, a Supreme Court lawyer dealing with juvenile cases.