LLM Notes: Legislative approaches during late colonial era in dealing with juveniles

 The legislative approaches during the late colonial era in India to deal with juveniles reflected a gradual shift from punitive to reformative methods, influenced by global reform movements and British colonial policies. Key features and legislations of this period include:

• Indian Penal Code 1860: Recognized children under 7 as incapable of crime (doli incapax), and children aged 7 to 12 as having conditional immunity based on maturity, establishing age-based differentiation in criminal liability.

• Reformatory Schools Act 1876: Marked a shift towards reform, allowing courts to send juvenile offenders (under 16) to reformatories instead of prisons. These schools focused on education, discipline, and vocational training, aiming at rehabilitation rather than punishment.

• Indian Jail Committee 1864: Recommended separate accommodations for juveniles to prevent contamination by adult criminals and supported corporal punishment as an alternative to imprisonment for juveniles convicted of non-capital offenses.

• Children's Acts (1920-1949): Various provinces enacted Children Acts inspired by the American model, establishing juvenile courts, remand homes, and probation with emphasis on segregating juveniles from adults and informal court proceedings.

• Apprenticeship and Indentured Labor: Juveniles convicted of minor offenses were sometimes sentenced to apprenticeships or indentured labor as a form of discipline and skill training, though often exploitative.

• Segregation and protection: Colonial laws emphasized separating juveniles from adult offenders in custody and aimed to provide institutional care, though with varying implementation across regions.

• Overall, these laws sought to balance protection, discipline, and reformation of juveniles but were often fragmented, uneven in application, and influenced by racial and class biases.

This legislative evolution laid the groundwork for post-independence juvenile justice reforms, which aimed for a more uniform and welfare-oriented system in India.

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