handcuffing of juveniles

7/21/2019 Handcuffing of Juveniles

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Handcuffing of Juveniles

Nawaz ul Haque*

Thehandcuffing of juvenile is a serious issue in India. As per Juvenile Justice Act,2006 (amendment) and its rules; handcuffing of juvenile means violating the Rule 6

of Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Rules, 200 (!odel Rules)"

#orrespondingl$ as %ell as Rule &' of ihar Juvenile justice Rules, 202 said the

same statement"

"No child or the juvenile in conflict with law dealt with under the provisions of

the Act and the rules made there under shall e handcuffed or fettered"

[Rule 76 & 89 of Juvenile Justice (care and protection of children) Rules, 2007 and ofBihar Juvenile Justice Rules, 2012 respectivel!"

*o understand the a+ove mentioned su+ject in the frame%or of Juvenile Justice

-$stem, %e have to discover #hat $uvenile $ustice is and #ho are $uveniles.

*he first central legislation on Juvenile Justice %as passed in '&6, +$ the /nion

arliament, providing a uniform la% on juvenile justice for the entire countr$" rior to

this la% each state had its o%n enactment on juvenile justice %ith there +eing

differences in the %a$ juveniles %ere treated +$ different state legal s$stems" *he

Juvenile Justice Act %as thus passed to provide care, protection, treatment,

development and reha+ilitation of neglected or delin1uent juveniles and for the

settlement of certain matters related to and disposition of delin1uent juveniles"

*he overnment of India ratified the /nited 3ations #onvention on the Rights of the

#hild in ''2 there+$ maing it e4pedient to adhere to the standards prescri+ed in the

#onvention" 5ence, the '&6 JJ Act had to +e revie%ed and changes had to +e made

in order to secure the +est interest of the child and focus on social reintegration of the

child %ithout resorting to judicial proceedings" *he JJ Act '&6 %as repealed and the

Juvenile Justice (#are and rotection of #hildren) Act 2000 %as passed taing into

consideration all the International standards prescri+ed as per the #onvention on the

Rights of the #hild, the -tandard !inimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile

Justice, '&7 (eijing Rules), *he /3 uidelines for the revention of Juvenile

*3a%a8 ul ha1ue, rogramme #oordinator, al -aha, atna, ihar"

9elin1uenc$ called the Ri$adh uidelines, ''0 and the /nited 3ations Rules for the


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-everal 3?s %oring in the field of child rights find fault in the attitude of police

officials %hich comes from the adult criminal justice s$stem" ?n the other hand police

officials said hand cuffing and fettering is necessar$ reason to handle the juvenile

offenders in the age group of @& +ecause of their %iced smartness and a+ilit$ to

move speedil$ lie lightening resulting in their escape" Another reason mentioned +$

the old age police officials is their ina+ilit$ to handle such juveniles due to their

gro%ing age factor" *he reasons cited +$ the police are practical +ecause the$ are

facing it in a routine +asis and should not +e overlooed"

!upreme ourt #irectives on handcuffing and fetters.

" 5andcuffs are to +e used onl$ if a person is

A) Involved in serious non+aila+le offences, has +een previousl$ convicted of

a crime; and>or

) Is of desperate character violent, disorderl$ or o+structive; and>or

#) is liel$ to commit suicide; and>or

9) is liel$ to attempt escape"

2" *he reasons %h$ handcuffs have +een used must +e clearl$ mentioned in the

9ail$ 9iar$ Report" *he$ must also +e sho%n to the court"

B" ?nce an arrested person is produced +efore the court, the escorting officer must

tae the courts permission +efore handcuffing her>him to and fro from the court

to the place of custod$"

@" *he magistrate +efore %hom an arrested person is produced must in1uire %hether

5andcuffs or fetters have +een used" If the ans%er is $es, the officer concerned

must give an e4planation"

7" It is necessar$ to tae the magistrates permission +efore handcuffing a person

%ho has +een remanded to judicial or police custod$"

6" A person arrested in the e4ecution of an arrest %arrant Cissued +$ a magistrateD

must not +e handcuffed unless prior permission has +een taen from the magistrate"

" In an arrest %ithout %arrant, the police is onl$ allo%ed to handcuff on the +asis of

concrete proof that the person is prone to violence; has a tendenc$ to escape; or is

so dangerous and desperate that there is no other practical %a$ to restrain her>his

movement" Even then the officer ma$ use handcuffs onl$ till the time the person is


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!andcuffing without a magistrates approval is not permitted, save in rareinstances. "n such instances, the burden of proving that the use of handcuffs was

warranted lies on the police. "f the detaining authority or escort party fail to satisfy

the court about the genuineness of the danger or threat posed by the person who

was handcuffed, they will be liable under law." -unil atra v 9elhi Administration '&

-## @'@

taen to the police station and thereafter to the magistrateFs court"

&" Giolation of the #ourts directives +$ a police officer of %hatever ran or an$

mem+er of the jail esta+lishment is punisha+le summaril$ under #ontempt of

#ourts Act, ' in addition to other provisions of the la%"

In $rem !han%ar !hu%la & #elhi Administration '() ! +,-, -upreme #ourt

of India rejected the argument of the state that handcuffs are necessar$ to prevent

prisoners from escaping" Insurance against escape does not compulsoril$ re1uire

handcuffing; there are other methods %here+$ an escort can eep safe custod$ of a

detenu Cdetained personD %ithout the indignit$ and cruelt$ implicit in handcuffs and

other complications"

*he$ also asserted that even orders from superiors are not a valid justification for

handcuffing a person" #onstitutional rights cannot +e suspended under the gar+ of

follo%ing orders issued +$ a superior officer" *here must +e reasona+le grounds to

+elieve the prisoner is so dangerous and desperate that he or she cannot +e ept in

control e4cept +$ hand cuffing"

Heeping in vie% of a+ove directives of -upreme #ourt of India regarding hand

cuffing, fetters (chains) or ropes to +ind prisoner, %e can clearl$ sa$ that the purposeof the la% is to assure people that the$ can live under the legal s$stem %hich protects

their rights and interest"

*he Juvenile Justice -$stem is a +eneficial and sociall$ oriented legislation" *he

pream+le of the said Act is self e4planator$ %n ct to consolidate and a'end the la#

relatin to $uveniles in conflict #ith la# and children in need of care and protection

and treat'ent caterin to their develop'ental needs, and adoptin a child*

friendl approach in the ad$udication and disposition of 'atters in the est interest of


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children and for their ulti'ate rehailitation and for 'atters connected there#ith or

incidental thereto"%

*he J"J" Act, 2000 speas a+out t%o t$pes of children one is juvenile in conflict %ith

la% and second one is child in need of care and protection" *he o+ject of the Act is to

eep the child interest foremost at ever$ stage; %hether it is adjudication, disposition

and reha+ilitation matter of the child in +oth the categories"

In order to address the issue of handcuffing of juveniles, %a$ out is to

Juveniles should +e escorted +$ the child %elfare officers>special juvenile

police unit to JJ office during production and in no manner he should +e

handcuffed > fettered > using ropes for +inding him"

Inform the parents or guardian of the juvenile alleged to +e in conflict %ith

la% a+out the apprehension of the juvenile, need to present during production

+efore the Juvenile Justice oard so that he>she %ould +e comforta+le and

tendenc$ of escape is reduced in parents presence"

follo% the unam+iguous guidelines prescri+ed +$ the Ape4 court and tae

suita+le action for dealing %ith unforeseen situations that ma$ arise %ithin the

purvie% of a+ove guidelines and the +est interest of children"

handcuffing of juveniles

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