Know your laws: How kids' crimes expose chinks in legal system
India Today
According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, juveniles were involved in 31,365 crimes in 2023. That year, 40,036 children were arrested—nearly 79 percent of them between 16 and 18 years old.
Two recent cases have forced India to confront an uncomfortable reality about juvenile crime—and how the justice system responds to it.
In one case, a six-year-old girl was raped by three boys aged between 10 and 15. Her father publicly demanded that the accused be punished as adults. In another, a 17-year-old accused in the 2024 Pune Porsche crash—where two people were killed due to reckless driving—was granted bail.
The court asked the minor to write an essay reflecting on his actions, a direction that triggered nationwide outrage. The anger deepened when bail was also granted to the parents of co-accused minors.
Public fury followed swiftly. But outrage, however understandable, rarely leads to better justice.
These cases raise a larger and more difficult question: how does India actually deal with children who commit crimes? The answer lies not in the absence of laws, but in the growing gap between what the law promises and how it is carried out on the ground.
According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, juveniles were involved in 31,365 crimes in 2023. That year, 40,036 children were arrested—nearly 79 percent of them between 16 and 18 years old.
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