Juveniles aged 16
years and above will now be tried under laws for adults for heinous crimes as
Parliament on Tuesday passed a much-expected Bill in this regard against the
backdrop of a juvenile convict being released in the gang-rape-cum-murder case
of December 2012.
The Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, which provides for lowering the
age for trial from 18 years, was passed by Rajya Sabha with a voice vote after
a walkout by Left parties, which wanted it to be sent to a Select Committee.
The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha earlier.
Replying to the
debate on the Bill, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said no
juvenile will be sent to the jail directly. She said the Juvenile Justice Board
has experts and psychologists, who will first decide whether the crime
committed has been “child-like” or was it committed in an “adult frame of
mind”. She said the juvenile crime is the fastest rising segment of the crime
and “You cannot have a more comprehensive, more nuanced and compassionate
Bill.”
“We may not be able
to do anything about the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya case but we can deter
many other boys from doing so,” Ms. Gandhi pleaded. Ms. Gandhi also said the
juveniles will still have the power to appeal even if a court decides that they
will go to an adult jail. “If juvenile is sent to jail, they will be sent to a
borstal until they are 21 years old, after which there will be a review,” she
said.
“This is a very
nuanced bill... some people are over simplifying this Bill. If it is perceived
that it was a thought-out, adult and planned crime, it would not be considered
a child-like crime,” the Minister said.