BENGALURU: Activists protested in front of Town Hall on Wednesday against the NDA government’s proposed amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act, which will allow juveniles to be tried as adults in heinous criminal cases.
The activists claimed that the one-year rule of the Modi government has not been good for child rights. Apart from making steep budget cuts in education, the government has introduced two highly regressive legislations, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Bill, 2014 and the Amendment of The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, which destroy childhoods of lakhs of children.
The Juvenile Justice Bill attempts to put on trial children between the age of sixteen to eighteen accused of committing heinous offences, treating them as adults, and, if convicted, send them to adult prisons.
The Bill was proposed after the Delhi gang rape case, ostensibly to improve women’s safety. However, there is little or no evidence to suggest that sending more juvenile offenders to jail contributes to lower levels of crime. This bill will deny young people a chance to reform. Data on juvenile crimes indicate that almost 80% of those apprehended for offences are children from underprivileged sections, the protesters said.
The JJ Bill, 2014 should have suggested concrete measures to strengthen the existing child protection system, instead of focusing on incarceration of children. Sending children to prison is not the answer to the safety of women, they said.
The central cabinet has approved the amendment of the child labour prohibition and regulation Act, which allows for children under 14 years of age to help out in home/family based industry if their education is not affected. The government justified this provision under the garb of preserving traditional skills, and occupations, and states that the current socio-economic conditions require certain children to help augment family income, they said.
