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Title: THE MENTAL AGE AND MENTAL COMPETENCY SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHILE DECIDING ON A PUNISHMENT FOR A HEINOUS CRIME COMMITTED IN INDIA
Authors: Zoyah Kumar Sen
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Zoyah Kumar Sen Sanskriti School, New Delhi
MLA 8 Sen, Zoyah Kumar. "THE MENTAL AGE AND MENTAL COMPETENCY SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHILE DECIDING ON A PUNISHMENT FOR A HEINOUS CRIME COMMITTED IN INDIA." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 7, no. 8, Aug. 2022, pp. 2393-2401, doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2022.v07i08.004. Accessed Aug. 2022. APA 6 Sen, Z. (2022, August). THE MENTAL AGE AND MENTAL COMPETENCY SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHILE DECIDING ON A PUNISHMENT FOR A HEINOUS CRIME COMMITTED IN INDIA. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 7(8), 2393-2401. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2022.v07i08.004 Chicago Sen, Zoyah Kumar. "THE MENTAL AGE AND MENTAL COMPETENCY SHOULD BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHILE DECIDING ON A PUNISHMENT FOR A HEINOUS CRIME COMMITTED IN INDIA." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 7, no. 8 (August 2022), 2393-2401. Accessed August, 2022. https://doi.org/10.46609/IJSSER.2022.v07i08.004.
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ABSTRACT: When we discuss punishment, mental age should be taken into consideration. Varma (2013) noted down that in view of the socioeconomic changes over the past decade, the changed nutritional diet, and exposure have led children to mature faster and therefore, develop their facilities well before 18 years of age. In nations that have ratified the UN Convention, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinction is created for offenders under the age of 18 to distinguish between guilt in horrific crimes and exceptional offenses such as rape and murder. In India, the National Crime Records Bureau, n.d recorded data for 2011, which showed that 33,887 juveniles were arrested for 25,178 crimes. Of these, 1,211 were 7-12 years old, 11,019 fell between 12 and 16 years, and 21,657 were in the 16-18-year age group. This data was analyzed by Varma (2013) and he came to the conclusion that 64% of all juvenile criminals fail within 16-18 years. Interestingly, the data also reveals that only 5.7% of juveniles arrested were homeless while a vast majority stayed with their parents or relatives, but were from economically-backward families. According to one of the supreme court's judgments, mental age is not considered. This research paper emphasizes that the laws that are used to try juveniles should be distinctly different from the laws that are applicable to adults. We have compiled this with the help of a literature review and thematic analysis of all the research available and different research that has been done to come to the conclusion that it is essential to emphasize that the debate on physical age is more than just a discussion about a number. In this paper, we see through our research, that the age of the criminal is not taken into account when determining whether or not they will be convicted of a specific crime. Regardless of the criminal's age, if they have committed the crime, they will be convicted. However, the severity of the punishment will be affected. When we talk about age, only age is recognized; no other elements, such as gender, the background of the child, the mental age, or the environment of the house aren’t taken into account. Biases are not currently taken into account in India, but they should be because when they are, the severity of the punishment meted out to the child is lowered. The paper will address the above mentioned themes and then explore reforms.

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