SC to examine constitutional validity giving definition of juvenile in the Juvenile Justice Act

04 Feb 2013 Evaluate
In the wake of the Delhi brutal gang-rape accused a case of juvenile, the Supreme Court has decided to examine the constitutional validity of the provision giving the definition of juvenile in the Juvenile Justice Act which treats a person as a minor till he attains the age of 18 years. The apex court has set for hearing on April 3 a public interest litigation(PIL) asking that the judiciary be given powers to determine whether an accused is a juvenile or not.

A bench comprising justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra decided to hear the matter from April 3, and asked the Attorney General to file counter affidavits and relevant reports relating to the issue. According to PIL, the judiciary should have the powers to decide whether the accused should face charges under the Juvenile Justice Act, depending on the gravity of the crime committed.  Attorney General GE Vahanvati was asked by the apex court to assist on the issue raised in a petition which seeks to strike down the definition of juvenile from the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.

A notice has been issued notice by the apex court to the Centre on a PIL seeking lowering of age of juvenile to 16 years from the present 18 years.  The counsel, appearing for the petitioners, submitted that the constitutional validity of the definition of juvenile in the Act is in conflict with the law and said that the definition of juvenile under section 82 and 83 of the IPC is a much better classification. 

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×