‘Delhi gangrape accused too young to be punished’
29 Jan 2013 7:38 AM IST
The sixth accused in the case of the 16 December gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student here was declared by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) as a ‘minor’, which would enable him to walk free by 4 June, this year when he turns 18.
The accused, who was described as the most brutal of the six accused by the Delhi Police, was declared as 17 years and six months and 24 days-old (as of Monday) by the JJB, which relied on his birth certificate and school documents.
Section 15 (g) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act mandates that a juvenile aged between 16-18 years if convicted, can be sentenced to be sent to a special home for a period of three years at the maximum, and, thereafter, be released on probation.
However, section 16 of the Act also provides that a juvenile can only be kept at the special home till he attains 18 years of age and he cannot be sent to jail thereafter, which in effect will result in his release.
The JJB also rejected the police’s plea for bone ossification test of the sixth accused for determining his age. Lawyers appearing for the prosecution said they would appeal against the JJB order in a higher court.
Earlier on 15 January, the principal of the school from where the juvenile had dropped out, had submitted before the JJB that as per school records he is 17 years and six months’ old.
The present and the former headmasters of the school in Bhawanipur at Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, where the juvenile had studied till Class III, had appeared before the Board and said they cannot identify the boy but know that he took admission in the school in 2002. The former principal said that during the time of admission, the boy’s father had come to admit him and mentioned his date of birth as 4 June, 1995. The juvenile is the eldest son of a mentally challenged father and his mother relied on farming to raise his two brothers and two sisters in a small hamlet at Badaun.
The accused, who was described as the most brutal of the six accused by the Delhi Police, was declared as 17 years and six months and 24 days-old (as of Monday) by the JJB, which relied on his birth certificate and school documents.
Section 15 (g) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act mandates that a juvenile aged between 16-18 years if convicted, can be sentenced to be sent to a special home for a period of three years at the maximum, and, thereafter, be released on probation.
However, section 16 of the Act also provides that a juvenile can only be kept at the special home till he attains 18 years of age and he cannot be sent to jail thereafter, which in effect will result in his release.
The JJB also rejected the police’s plea for bone ossification test of the sixth accused for determining his age. Lawyers appearing for the prosecution said they would appeal against the JJB order in a higher court.
Earlier on 15 January, the principal of the school from where the juvenile had dropped out, had submitted before the JJB that as per school records he is 17 years and six months’ old.
The present and the former headmasters of the school in Bhawanipur at Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, where the juvenile had studied till Class III, had appeared before the Board and said they cannot identify the boy but know that he took admission in the school in 2002. The former principal said that during the time of admission, the boy’s father had come to admit him and mentioned his date of birth as 4 June, 1995. The juvenile is the eldest son of a mentally challenged father and his mother relied on farming to raise his two brothers and two sisters in a small hamlet at Badaun.
Next Story
