Maneka Gandhi Thanks Opposition For Passing Juvenile Justice Bill

The debate and passage of the new Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill in Parliament occurred in the presence of the parents of the young woman who was fatally gang raped in 2012 in a moving bus in New Delhi.

Under the new law juveniles in the age group of 16-18 years who commit heinous crimes like murder, rape and robbery stand to face a regular court like adults.

Under India’s traditional juvenile justice laws, a minor’s maximum punishment was three years at a reform facility, according to Indian lawyers.

Any 16-18 year old, who commits a lesser, i.e., serious offence, may be tried as an adult only if he is apprehended after the age of 21 years.

Critics of the legislation argue this bill violates the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which India has ratified, and states that all people under the age of 18 must be treated equally. In July 2014, Minister of Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi said that they were preparing a new law which will allow 16-year-olds to be tried as adult.

The Rajya Sabha passed the landmark Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2015 on December 22, 2015. It is clear that the juvenile who has now been released for the Nirbhaya rape would not have known of this aspect of the law when he joined the others in that horrendous rape. “I’m happy that everyone supported the Juvenile Justice Bill and want to thank everyone”, she said. We should go by the experience.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said juvenile convicts should not be housed in jail with “hardened criminals” and there should be a separate place for them.

Nirbhaya’s mother welcomed the Bill, though with the regret that it wasn’t passed before.

Kurien, however, said there was no proposal to send the bill to a panel, after which members of the Left parties staged a walkout.

Earlier, during the day, she had appealed to BJP President Amit Shah and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to get the bill passed in the current session of Parliament.

He said for the last few days, the country has been discussing the issue and the biggest question is about the age.

“We have been demanding that the juvenile should be tried on the basis of the crime they have committed”.

The release triggered widespread calls led by the victims’ parents for amendments to an existing law which critics said was too weak.

Adding that important legislations are being sent to both the standing and select committee by both the houses, Naidu said: “The goal is, this is an important legislation where “ease of doing business” is involved”.