Rajya Sabha passes Bill to reduce juvenile age to 16 years

Juveniles aged 16 years and above will now be tried under laws for adults for heinous crimes as Parliament today passed a much-expected Bill in this regard against the backdrop of a juvenile convict being released in the gangrape-cum-murder case of December 2012.

In India, a person younger than 18 is considered a juvenile and is exempt from harsh punishments for serious crimes and is instead sent to reform homes for three years. Parliamentarians declared that offenders over 16 years of age would be tried as adults in case of crimes such as murder and rape.

Members of the Rajya Sabha today gave their unequivocal assent to the passing of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014. Now, it is not the right time to talk about him (the juvenile convict of the gangrape case) as he is a free man and there is no law to hold him back. “But I am sad that my daughter did not get justice”, she added.

Shedding light on the intricacies of the bill, the women and child development minister said that, no juvenile would be directly sent to jail, or be directly jailed with adults or hardened criminals.

The parents of the December 16 gang-rape victim on Tuesday met central minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi to demand early passage of the juvenile justice bill in parliament.

-As per the new bill, there will be a Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB) and Child Welfare Committees (CWC) in each district of the country. The provisions provide for placing children in a “place of safety” both during and after the trial till they attain the age of 21 years after which an evaluation of the juvenile shall be conducted by the court.

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

The move comes two days after the youngest convicted rapist in the horrific 2012 gang rape in New Delhi was released because he was just shy of his 18th birthday on the night of the rape. “It is regressive because studies show a high rate of recidivism if you treat juveniles as adults”.

The amendment had been passed by the Lok Sabha earlier, and on Tuesday it was passed by the Rajya Sabha as well by voice vote. This can protect and save the women of the nation.

She expressed concern on lowering the age of the juvenile in India from 18 to 16, saying that lowering the age is completely wrong.