HC directs State to ensure juvenile offenders are brought back into mainstream society

Emphasising the importance of the reformatory projects, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed the State government to take steps to ensure that juvenile offenders were brought into mainstream society and not pushed to become criminals in future.

Justice N. Anand Venkatesh observed that in Chennai, there was a reformatory project. This effort had the support of the State and the government had allocated funds to the tune of ₹40 lakh recently for the project.

This effort must spread throughout Tamil Nadu. Society and the system owes a responsibility to ensure that juvenile offenders are brought back into mainstream society, the court observed.

The court was hearing a bail petition filed by a 19-year-old youth from Madurai. He was accused in theft cases. The State told the court that four cases were registered against him when he was a juvenile and another four cases after he had attained majority. The counsel for the petitioner submitted that, presently, four cases had been registered against him and he was arrested on the same day in all the four cases. The cases had been foisted against the youth, it was submitted.

The case was a typical case study as to how the criminal justice system works in this country when a youngster gets caught while committing a crime and thereafter, how he is sucked into a web of series of cases, which inundated him.

He is pushed to a corner where the youngster understands that even if he is not involved in a criminal case, the police are going to rope him in other cases and therefore, he decides to continue committing various offences, the court observed.

At one stage, the youngster will end up as a gang leader and will become a larger nuisance to society. This is the story of many juveniles who are caught committing a crime and who ultimately end up becoming incorrigible offenders. Even though efforts are being taken to reform such juveniles, such efforts have not spread across Tamil Nadu, the court observed. The court granted bail to the youth with certain conditions.

Published - November 22, 2024 07:40 pm IST