16 is the new 18
7 Aug 2014 5:37 AM IST
The amendment will give the magistrate the power to decide if a juvenile involved in a heinous crime should be sent to a correction facility or tried by a regular court. However, according to the bill, in no case the juvenile involved in a heinous crime will be sentenced to death or life imprisonment either when tried under the provisions of Juvenile Justice Act or under the provisions of IPC.
With all central ministries giving their approval to amendments to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, the matter was placed on the agenda at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting.
Reacting to the move, national commission of women chairperson Mamata Sharma said: ‘I was in favour of lowering the age as more and more juveniles are committing the crime.’ The changes in the law comes against the backdrop of outrage over the the Nirbhaya Delhi gang-rape case of December, 2012, where one of the accused was a juvenile and escaped with just a meagre punishment.
The juvenile accused in the Nirbhaya case was tried in a juvenile court last year and sentenced to three years in a reform home. His lighter punishment had triggered a debate on punishment for juveniles convicted for heinous crimes.
The government data shows that there has been a shocking rise in crimes committed by juveniles since December 2012. Crimes committed by juveniles increased by 13 per cent between 2012 and 2013, from 27,936 in 2012 to 31,725 cases in 2013.
Alarmingly, the highest increase was seen in crimes against women with a whopping 132.3 per cent rise in cases of assault on women, 70.5 per cent increase in cases of insult to the modesty of women and 60 per cent increase in cases of rape.
Madhya Pradesh tops the list of rapes committed by juveniles, followed by Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
National capital Delhi witnessed 137 cases of rape committed by juveniles during the year 2013.
With all central ministries giving their approval to amendments to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, the matter was placed on the agenda at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting.
Reacting to the move, national commission of women chairperson Mamata Sharma said: ‘I was in favour of lowering the age as more and more juveniles are committing the crime.’ The changes in the law comes against the backdrop of outrage over the the Nirbhaya Delhi gang-rape case of December, 2012, where one of the accused was a juvenile and escaped with just a meagre punishment.
The juvenile accused in the Nirbhaya case was tried in a juvenile court last year and sentenced to three years in a reform home. His lighter punishment had triggered a debate on punishment for juveniles convicted for heinous crimes.
The government data shows that there has been a shocking rise in crimes committed by juveniles since December 2012. Crimes committed by juveniles increased by 13 per cent between 2012 and 2013, from 27,936 in 2012 to 31,725 cases in 2013.
Alarmingly, the highest increase was seen in crimes against women with a whopping 132.3 per cent rise in cases of assault on women, 70.5 per cent increase in cases of insult to the modesty of women and 60 per cent increase in cases of rape.
Madhya Pradesh tops the list of rapes committed by juveniles, followed by Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
National capital Delhi witnessed 137 cases of rape committed by juveniles during the year 2013.
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