Juvenile Vehicular Offences; rehabilitation or accountability

Abstract

The rising involvement of juveniles in reckless driving, underage driving, speeding, and fatal road accidents, has been a major concern for India, both legally and socially. The study covers the rehabilitation vs accountability issues in the Indian juvenile justice system as regards vehicular offence committed by juveniles. The paper examines the legal framework of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 especially with respect to parental responsibility, youth responsibility, counselling, community service and corrective justice. The research also examines the psychological, sociological and behavioural factors that contribute to juvenile driving offenses, such as peer pressure, emotional immaturity, thrill, lack of parental supervision, and the effects of social media. Different rehabilitative interventions like counselling, psychological support, educational awareness initiatives, and restorative justice practices have been mentioned and studied for their effectiveness in the task of reforming juvenile offenders. The study also examines case studies of some of the most significant crashes, such as the Pune Porsche crash and other accidents involving teen drivers, that sparked public discussion about the leniency of the juvenile justice system. The results indicate that rehabilitation is still important with regard to the developmental nature of juveniles, but more stringent accountability measures are necessary for serious vehicle offences that involve death or grievous bodily harm to ensure deterrence and public safety. The study is concluded that a balanced approach of rehabilitation, parental accountability, strict enforcement and education on road safety has to be adopted to deal with juvenile vehicular offences effectively in India.