India to lower age for trying youth for serious crimes to 16

These include murder, rape, kidnapping and acid attacks. The woman died of her injuries two weeks later at a Singapore hospital.

India’s upper house of parliament passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill by a voice vote, paving the way for lowering the minimum age for a criminal trial to 16 from 18, depending on the gravity of the offence.

Four adult convicts in the case are appealing against death sentences. The sixth man implicated in the case died in police custody in 2013.

Indian protesters hold placards and shout slogans during a demonstration against the release of a juvenile rapist in New Delhi on December 21, 2015.

This bold amendment by India’s upper chamber completes the parliamentary process for reform a bill to be sent to the nation’s President for approval.

The bill was approved by the Lok Sabha – the lower house – in May. In allowing for the possibility that they be prosecuted as adults, the justice system recognises the changing social reality that the commission of heinous crimes is no longer an anomaly in the age group of 16 to 18.

The parents of the victim of the 2012 attack watched the hourslong debate in Parliament from the gallery Tuesday.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said on Tuesday the legislation aimed to strike a balance between the rights of a child and the need to deter heinous juvenile crimes, especially against women.

But several lawmakers also asked that the law be sent to an expert committee and more children’s rights experts weigh in before the changes were made law.

The amended bill says defendants between 16 and 18 years of age can be tried as adults for all crimes carrying possible penalties of more than seven years in prison. Whether the accused should be treated as an adult or not is to be determined by the Juvenile Justice Board.