Shuchi Kapoor's Photo Story Of A Delhi Remand Home Unveils The Dichotomy Of The New Juvenile Justice Law

Photographs and Text: Shuchi Kapoor 

[Editor’s Note—-Recently, the government’s hasty decision to amend the Juvenile Justice act, allowing minors above the age of 16 to be tried in courts as adults, came to our attention and we felt compelled to bust certain myths to shed some light on the whole idea of reforms and the status of the issue. Taking statistical and societal complexities into account, we’ve felt from the start that this is a bill that should not be passed without a deeper conversation - one that every single one of us ought to be involved in. So in an attempt to play devil’s advocate, we have been working on a series of stories to provide us with more insight into the world of child offenders in India. 

For this story, we were fortunate to get permission for a few hours from the Superintendent of an Observation Centre for boys called Sewa Kutir, and we commissioned photojournalist, Shuchi Kapoor, to give us an idea of what life inside a remand home is like - something that cannot be experienced from our armchairs. Your opinions, as always, are for you to form, but our efforts are towards encouraging informed choices over prejudiced ones. Watch this space for more stories on this campaign. If you'd like to get more involved, don't forget to visit www.noprisonforchildren.com for further information and sign our petition.]

brutal gang rape

POSCO

'Choli ke peeche kya hai'

As far as observation Homes or juvenile courts go, they can attempt at reforms, not guarantee it. 

"The obvious solution is to reprimand and convict an assaulter and send him/her behind bars, but a significant and overlooked situation in this scenario are the environments where these kids come from and the ones they go back to, post their time in the Observation Home. The real change must happen on the home ground, if there is a home in the first place.

There is a reason why they are not kept with hardened adult criminals - it is very easy to get influenced there. The reason we have repeat offenders is because nobody is bothered to look into as to why are they being prompted to commit these acts in the first place; what kind of upbringing do they have?

If they have grown up seeing their fathers beating their mothers and nobody objecting to it, they will lead by example. I am a law enforcer but let us not be blindfolded to the complications that kids undergo at these stages of their lives. You have your parents to cover up for your mistakes, they don't.

And it has become absolutely imperative to sensitize and educate the parents more than the children. But these changes don't happen in a day and they need to happen at a multitude of levels.

As far as the JJ law goes, I try not to always play by the rules and let down my guard with them, get more involved with them and try to understand their psyche - they should have someone to talk to. If we all reject them, there will be no attempt at their end for any improvement.

Having said that, it is difficult to forgive someone who has raped or murdered a loved one. And we always think it can never be our own child who could be an offender and therefore it is easy to condemn the others. Fact is, young offenders are from all classes - and change is a slow process."

Here is a conversation with a few boys (which was being carefully supervised by the Centre's faculty who never left us alone for even a minute) whose identities we cannot reveal. 

SK: When you are about to commit a crime you do know that it can have serious consequences if you get caught. Does that never scare you? What does the law mean to you? What were the desperate circumstances in which you decide to go ahead with it?

Boy -

"Most of us here come from very poor backgrounds. We don't always have our families here with us as we come from other places looking for work. It is a struggle to survive - one that none of you will ever face or understand. We fall into bad habits like drugs or join a gang for the sake of belonging somewhere. In the process, it becomes a way of life, a risky one but it's challenging and it is the only option that seems viable. Many times we are doped or drunk and hence the fear is less. Who doesn't want a better life? Most of us have dropped out of school because our parents couldn't afford it. Many times we get influenced also and want better things too fast, too soon. It's difficult to say what one feels before the act, but it does need one to be brave."

SK: An option viable till you get caught, but not all poor people succumb to criminal activities -they too figure out a way that is not illegal and manage to survive. Why didn't you ever think of that?

Boy -

"The law matters - only when you get caught. Until then life is a chase. But once inside, we realise that the law or life cannot be taken for granted. We hope to get a second chance at improvement. Sometimes it is greed, sometimes it is just the desperation for food or survival."

SK: They call this a home - do you feel like home over here? What do you like or dislike about this place? 

Boy:

"We have committed a crime and therefore we are here - we are all aware of that. This is definitely not home (has wet eyes but bravely carries on) but it is okay as we do get food to eat and we watch TV and play games. Sometimes people like you come to visit us and we look forward to such times. But the most we look forward to is our date in court. Hoping that they will pardon us and let us out. We do not want to commit a crime - it just happens. Maybe we have to strengthen ourselves. And that is what they teach us here."

"I understand you find it exciting to take these pictures, but what is the point, you will not be able to keep them."

Boy

We might not be able to keep them, but you will remember us every time you see your picture taken by us."

SK to supervisor:

What is it like to work as a supervisor for a remand home? Is it out of choice? Please share your experience.

Supervisor:

(Laughs) Who would want a job like this? Often we don't have a choice when we get posted here but it's a government job. It is not easy to manage boys at this age and with such mindsets. It is a huge responsibility and they are uncontrollable brats.

They once took a gas cylinder and blew it up and they have razor sharp brains full of ideas - if we are not strict with them they get down to monkey business. We try with much patience, but at this stage of their lives they are very unpredictable. We may be made to look as the torturers but a certain degree of fear is a must before they can internalise any discipline."   

Security guards outside various gates:

"We are retired military personnel who work with security agencies now. While these boys respect us and listen to us, maybe because we are elder to them, but we don't see much hope for them. They keep coming back for similar offences. Once they commit a crime, very few of them really improve."

Scroll on to view more photos from Shuchi's time at Sewa Kutir: 

[Shuchi Kapoor is a documentary/ travel photojournalist from India and documents all of her work on her website, 'The Girl In The Galli.' ]

[Join the #NpPrisonForChildren campaign by checking out this site for further information on how to be involved, or signing this petition.] 

Photographs and Text: Shuchi Kapoor