MADURAI: Lamenting over the lack of sensitivity shown in handling juveniles, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently highlighted the need for introducing a reformation project for juveniles across the state to prevent them from becoming notorious criminals and enabling them to enter the mainstream society.
Justice N Anand Venkatesh observed while granting bail to a 19-year-old youth who was arrested by the Madurai city police in connection with four theft cases involving articles worth Rs 18,000.
Noting that already four cases were registered against him when he was a juvenile, the judge observed that this remains the story of many juveniles, who are caught committing a crime and ultimately end up becoming incorrigible offenders.
Even though efforts are being taken to reform such juveniles, like the Paathai Project of Chennai for which the state government has allocated Rs 40 lakh fund, such efforts have not spread across the state, the judge noted.
The society and the system owe a responsibility to ensure that the juvenile offenders are brought back into the mainstream of the society, he observed, and marked a copy of the order to the Inspector General of Prisons and Correctional Services, among others.