Amendments to juvenile justice act to get immediate clearance from govt

 Women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi has sent amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act to the law ministry. 

Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has assured Gandhi of swift action to clear the proposed amendments. According to reports, Prasad has, in fact, assured Gandhi of immediate clearance for the recommendations.

Earlier this month Maneka Gandhi had given indications of pushing for change in the JJ Act. She had recently said that juveniles who commit heinous crimes like rape should be treated at par with adults. 

Presenting statistics, Gandhi said that according to the police, almost 50% of all sexual crimes are committed by 16-year-olds who know that they will be protected from harsh punishments through the JJ Act. A sentiment is building up that this notion of protection gives the under-aged youths a boost to commit these heart-wrenching crimes. Gandhi had also said she would bring changes in the law and will personally monitor the process.

‘But now for premeditated murder, rape, if we bring them (juvenile) to the purview of the adult world, it will scare them,’ said Gandhi, adding: ‘We are changing the law and I am personally working on it to bring 16-year-olds into the purview.’

Soon after her statement, the Supreme Court also called for a more stringent Juvenile Justice Act. 

‘You can’t have a cut-off date for crime like you have for government jobs,’ the apex court had said. Questioning the immunity enjoyed by the under-age offenders, SC asked the government to re-visit the law and make necessary changes. The decision is at odds with the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee, which was formed after the 2012 Delhi gangrape to amend the Criminal Justice Act. A report by the panel stated that the age ceiling of 18 years must be maintained as the aim of the Juvenile Justice Act is to reform the child offender.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of rapes in India rose by 35.2 percent to 33,707 in 2013 compared to the previous year - with Delhi reporting 1,441 rapes. Former women and child development minister Krishna Tirath, during the previous UPA regime, too had proposed that juveniles above 16 years guilty of heinous crimes be treated on par with adult offenders.