Assam's juveniles face grim future

Guwahati: Ikbal (name changed) was nine when he was arrested in connection with a murder in Cachar district over eight years ago. He is no longer a juvenile now, but continues to be treated as one and is still languishing in an observation home, waiting for the Juvenile Juvenile Justice Board's (JJB) verdict.
Ikbal's not the only case. In some 292 cases, juvenile in conflicts with law (JCL) have been facing a similar fate.
Though the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, states that a case needs to be disposed of within four months from the date of commencement of investigation, these cases have been pending with the JJBs in the state for more than four years.
As per the 'Final report of the pending cases before the JJBs in Assam, 2015', commissioned by state child protection society (SCPC), more than 50% of the cases in Cachar and Dhemjai districts have remained unsolved for more than four years. "Out of the total 48 cases pending in Cachar, 25 have been pending for over four years. In Dhemaji, 10 cases out of 22 cases are pending," the report said.
A total of 1,308 cases were reported to be pending before the JJBs across the state last year with Nagaon, Sonitpur and Barpeta district JJBs reporting the highest number of unsettled cases of 225, 108 and 103 respectively.
"Over 366 cases were pending before the JJBs in the state for less than a year, 277 for almost two years, 229 for two to three years and around 144 cases remained unsettled for some time between three to four years," a SCPC official added.
Minors across the state have been deprived of a timely judicial procedure because of the reported sluggish investigation procedure adopted by the police. An Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR) study has highlighted that apprehending a JCL at the earliest possible opportunity after the crime is crucial to prevent the child from turning into a criminal.
"In 319 cases, JCLs were reported to be 'not found', 314 others were arrested after a week from the day of the crime, 488 were apprehended within a week and only 148 were apprehended by police on the same day of the crime," the study highlighted. In Jorhat district, police caught a JCL after 2,850 days after the case was filed.