In India a child below the age of 7 years cannot be punished for any crime committed by him / her. The age of a person, if he is under 7 years of age, is a complete defence to any allegation of commission of crime by him. Section 82 of the Indian Penal Code says that " Nothing is an offence which is done by a child under seven years of age. "
Further a child who is above 7 years of age but below 12 years, shall not be liable for punishment if it can be shown that he, at the time of commission of crime, had not attained sufficient maturity for understanding the nature and consequence of his actions. Section 83 of IPC lays down that "Nothing is an offence which is done by a child above seven years of age and under twelve, who has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge of the nature and consequence of his conduct on that occasion."
Thus while in the case of a child below seven years of age, simply proving his age would exempt him from punishment, in the latter case (child above 7 years and below 12 years), it has to be additionally proven that he was not mature enough, at the time of committing the act, to understand the nature of his acts or its consequences.
It shouldn't be that way. No matter the age, I do believe that even the young ones are aware of good and bad actions. If people still disagree, the children should be given some education on moral values, ethics and the basic Laws of our system. If not, the devilish minds of many can use this Law to their advantage and corrupt the minds of young children. Age can be put into consideration when deciding on the degree of punishment. However, an offender should always be punished, so that they are aware that they have committed a misdeed and think twice, so that the action is never repeated. Love your posts :) Your an awesome writer..
ReplyDeleteI guess the reason why we don't punish children because there is no point in penalizing the person who doesn't have the knowledge right & wrong...... same reason why we don't penalize animals and mentally unstable convicts..
ReplyDeletethat doesn't mean I'm comparing children with animals or psychos.. but trying to make a point.
And it's a well known fact that proper guidance and fostering can turn that kid into a good person in time ahead.
On the contrary, child offenders are most likely to turn into psychopaths and criminals, but as I said proper childhood can minimize that possibility.
lovely read again :)