Status of Borstal Schools in India

Abstract

The Borstal system evolved through the Gladstone Committee Report (1895), England, which propagated differential correctional philosophy for adolescent offenders. The philosophy focused on rehabilitation and corrections through training in industrial trades followed by an intensive aftercare programme. The success of Borstal schools was credited to the synergy between legislature, institution and aftercare mechanisms. Borstal schools in India were influenced and modelled in this line. This article studies and compares the existing Borstal Acts in India. National Crime Record Bureau data (2020 and 2021) suggest that Borstals were functional in only 8 out of 29 states, and its occupancy rate was not optimal. This article raises concerns over the decline in the number and use of Borstal schools and tries to understand the reasons for the same. It advocates for the need to revive Borstal schools in the spirit of corrections for young adults against the backdrop of changes in adult and juvenile justice legislation.