Prelims 2026 · CSAT / Reading Comprehension · Question 39
Which of the following conclusions is/are valid?<br/>1. Only a serious offence as categorised by the revised JJ Act, justifies the transfer of a case to the adult judicial system.<br/>2. The JJ Act, 2021, categorises an offence as a serious offence based on the maximum sentence it carries, rather than on the minimum sentence.<br/><br/>Select the answer using the code given below.<br/><br/>**Passage:**<br/>The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, or the JJ Act, 2015 allows for the possibility for trying adolescents above 16 as adults if they are accused of committing a heinous offence. A heinous offence is one with a minimum punishment of seven years. Offences such as culpable homicide and causing death by negligence, which are common in drunken driving cases, are not heinous offences because they do not have a prescribed minimum punishment. The JJ Act, amended in 2021, now categorises an offence that has no minimum sentence, but has a maximum sentence of seven years or more as a serious offence which nonetheless, in the opinion of activists, does not merit the transfer of a case to the adult criminal justice system.<br/>
Answer
2 only
Conclusion 1 is invalid: the passage says transfer to the adult system is possible for heinous offences, not serious offences. Conclusion 2 is valid: the 2021 amendment treats offences with no minimum sentence but a maximum sentence of seven years or more as serious offences, so the basis mentioned is maximum sentence rather than minimum sentence.