Reformatory Schools Act, 1897

The Reformatory Schools Act, 1897 is a very old law dealing with how the justice system handles young offenders - originally defined in Section 4 as boys convicted of an offence who were under fifteen years of age at the time of conviction (the age-related definition has since been amended in some respects, and Section 31 later extends coverage to girls as well).

Section 5 empowers the Provincial Government to establish and maintain Reformatory Schools, or to use existing schools run by others willing to follow the government's rules, and to discontinue any school's status as a Reformatory School. Section 6 sets minimum requirements for any such school: separate sleeping arrangements for inmates at night, proper sanitary arrangements, water, food, clothing and bedding, industrial training, and an infirmary for sick inmates. Section 7 requires an Inspector General to inspect and certify a school before it can be used, and to visit it at least once a year afterward.

Section 8 is the operative provision that lets a court - the High Court, a Court of Session, a District Magistrate, or a specially empowered Magistrate - direct that, instead of serving an ordinary prison sentence, a youthful offender be sent to a Reformatory School for a period of not less than three and not more than seven years. Section 9 covers what happens when the convicting Magistrate does not have this power: the case is forwarded to the District Magistrate, who can then pass the appropriate order.

Sections 17-22 govern how these schools are managed: a Superintendent is appointed along with a Committee of Visitors or Board of Management (Section 17); the Superintendent may license offenders out to employers for work (Section 18), with power to cancel that licence, including specifically where the employer ill-treats the offender (Sections 19-21); and the Superintendent is deemed to be the offender's legal guardian while under this arrangement (Section 22). Sections 27-29 create offences connected with the schools: introducing prohibited articles or communicating improperly with a detained youthful offender, and abetting an offender's escape - both punishable, per the extract, with imprisonment up to six months or a fine not exceeding two hundred rupees, or both. A police officer may arrest an escaped offender without a warrant (Section 29).

Section 31 gives courts an alternative to imprisonment or a Reformatory School order: discharging the offender after admonition, or handing them over to a parent, guardian or relative who executes a bond to ensure the offender's good behaviour for up to twelve months; this section explicitly extends to girls as well as boys. This is a nineteenth-century law (1897) with several sections repealed over time (Sections 2, 3 and 30 are marked repealed in the extract) and others amended as recently as 1981 for the Islamabad Capital Territory. Given its age, and since the penalty figures shown here (fines up to two hundred rupees) reflect the original text, readers should verify whether these amounts and the overall framework are still current before relying on them.