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Section 87: Abetment of offences

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

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Act 2015
Section 86 All 112 Sections of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 Section 88

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 87

Section 87 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 imposes full substantive penal liability on any person who abets an offence committed against a child under Chapter IX.

  • Penal Consequences & Liability: The section enacts that whoever abets any offence under this Act shall, if the act abetted is committed in consequence of the abetment, be punished with the punishment provided for that offence.
  • Core Legal Standard: This provision extends the full penal force of child protection statutes to criminal instigators, conspirators, and facilitators who remain behind the scenes.

The section clarifies that abetment liability attaches irrespective of whether the principal offender is convicted or whether the child was an unwitting tool in the hands of adult conspirators. By incorporating abetment directly into Chapter IX, Parliament ensured that instigators of child exploitation, begging, or cruelty cannot exploit procedural loopholes in the general penal code.

Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Sanju @ Sanjay Singh Sengar v. State of M.P., (2002) 5 SCC 371: The Supreme Court reiterated the core principles of abetment, holding that active suggestion, instigation, or deliberate facilitation is required to sustain abetment culpability.
  • State of Karnataka v. Appa Balu Ingale, 1993 Supp (4) SCC 469: The Supreme Court affirmed that statutory provisions punishing abetment in special social welfare statutes must be interpreted strictly to prevent indirect circumvention of protective laws.
Legal Commentary:

Section 87 prevents criminal masterminds from escaping punishment by operating through proxies. In cases of commercial child trafficking, illegal adoption rings, or organized street begging, this provision ensures that intermediaries, financiers, and organizers face the identical severe sentences prescribed for primary perpetrators.

Section 86 All 112 Sections of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 Section 88