NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said children in conflict with law should be treated differently than adults, and asked the Centre and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to consider passing appropriate guidelines on 'preliminary assessment' to ascertain whether such kids should be tried as adults or not for the alleged crime.
A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Vikram Nath said the child should be tested on different parameters and given an opportunity of being brought into the mainstream if, during his juvenility, he has acted in conflict with law.
The top court said the report of the preliminary assessment decides the germane question of transferring the case of a child between 16 to 18 years of age to the children's court.
The apex court said the task of preliminary assessment under section 15 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 is a delicate task with requirement of expertise and has its own implications as regards trial of the case.
"In this view of the matter, it appears expedient that appropriate and specific guidelines are put in place.
Without much elaboration, we leave it open for the Central Government and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights to consider issuing guidelines or directions in this regard which may assist and facilitate the Board in making the preliminary assessment under section 15 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015," the bench said.
Nearly five years after the murder of a child at a Gurugram private school, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said the juvenile accused in the 2017 case should be examined afresh to decide whether he be prosecuted as an adult or not for the alleged crime, saying "the fate of the child in conflict with law should not be taken without conducting a meticulous psychological evaluation".
The top court agreed with the findings of the Punjab and Haryana High Court that further assessment of the accused ought to have been carried out once the psychologist had recommended so and had also suggested the name of the institute.
It dismissed the appeals filed by the father of the deceased child challenging the October 11, 2018 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.