Rajya Sabha passes Juvenile Justice Bill, to treat 16-year-olds as adults
New Delhi: Juveniles 16 years of age and above can now be tried as adults if they commit heinous crimes like rape and murder as Parliament on Tuesday passed a law to reduce the juvenile age from the existing 18 years to 16 years for heinous crimes.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, which provides for lowering the age from 18 years, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday by a voice vote with Congress support after the Left parties staged a walkout.
The Congress and Trinamul Congress which had earlier been demanding that the bill be referred to a select committee, withdrew their demand and allowed the bill, already passed in the Lok Sabha, to clear the Upper House. The bill will now be sent to the President for final assent.
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Watched from the galleries by the distraught parents of Nirbhaya, the victim of the December 16, 2012 horrific gangrape incident, the bill witnessed a discussion for over four hours before it was passed. The government clarified that the law cannot be applied “retrospectively”, referring to the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya case who has walked free for lack of such a legal provision.
“Although we are satisfied that the amendments have been passed as these will help victims of heinous crime get justice, there is grief that our daughter Jyoti was denied justice. The juvenile convict, who was the most brutal, was set free despite our repeated pleas and demands,” Nirbhaya’s mother, Ms Asha Devi, said outside Parliament. The parents of Nirbhaya, however, expressed satisfaction that the “new law will deter juveniles from committing heinous crimes against women” in the future. “The Juvenile Justice Bill which has been passed in the Rajya Sabha is a tribute to our daughter,” Nirbhaya’s father said. The parents, along with hundreds of youth and activists, have been protesting at Jantar Mantar and India Gate in the national capital for the last three days demanding passage of the bill and the death penalty for the remaining four convicts in the gangrape case.
While it was only the Left parties who staged a walkout, there were other parties, like NCP, DMK, AIADMK and SP, which, raising concerns over reducing the age, also demanded that the bill be referred to a select committee. Replying to the debate on the bill, women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi said, “Juvenile crime is the fastest rising segment of crime.” She termed it a “most compassionate” bill and added that no juvenile will be sent to jail directly as experts and psychologists of the Juvenile Justice Board will first decide whether the crime committed was “child-like” or whether it was committed in an “adult frame of mind”. Allaying concerns, she said juveniles will still have the power to appeal even if a court decides that they will go to an adult jail.
Calling the law a deterrent, she asked whether legislators need to protect the victims or the perpetrators. “Is poverty the only reason why some children turn criminal? How then does Sweden, with no poor people, have a high number of rape cases,” she asked. As she mentioned that the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya case was staying alongside Kashmiri terrorists and getting radicalised, Leader of the Opposition in the RS Ghulam Nabi Azad raised concerns, saying, “One thing is very important — for these culprits there should be a different set-up for them. They shouldn’t be kept in the same cell with hardened criminals for fear that they could turn out even worse than they were.”
Mr Ram Jethmalani, meanwhile, said he was not in favour of the bill while Congress leader Renuka Chaudhary said her party was the architect of the bill. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the bill was “rushed through” the Rajya Sabha without thinking on ways to fight crime in detail. The Left parties wanted it sent to a select committee so that there was no haste in amending the law under emotional pressure.
Earlier, parliamentary affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu reminded the House that the government had listed the bill thrice this session and a number of times in the last session . He said it was due to unnecessary discussion that the government was shy of bringing in the Juvenile Justice Bill as he once again accused the Opposition of not allowing the House to function. Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, who initiated the discussion on the bill, took a dig at Mr Naidu, saying even when the House was running smoothly he was “taking panga”.
Soon after the bill was passed, the Congress members once again resorted to slogan-shouting and entered the Well of the House demanding the resignation of finance minister Arun Jaitley in the DDCA scam. With one day left before Parliament adjourns sine die, all efforts by Mr Naidu to get assurances on other business to be transacted, including two ordinances and six pending bills, were drowned out by sloganeering by Congress members after the passage of the juvenile bill.
Congress backs bill
- The Juvenile Justice Bill passed by the Rajya Sabha by a voice vote with Congress support
- The Left wanted the Bill sent to a select committee so that there was no haste in amending the law
- The provisions of the new law does not apply on the juvenile convict in the December 16, 2012 case because in criminal law the principle of retrospectivity does not apply.
