Juvenile Justice Bill passed in RS

The Upper House took up the Bill for discussion as Nirbhaya’s parents witnessed the deliberations in the House, and later welcomed the passage of the long-pending Bill saying that it will deter juveniles from committing such crimes against women even though they rued that their daughter has been denied justice.

The juvenile offender in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case was released on Sunday after the Supreme Court dismissed the Delhi Commission for Women’s plea, saying he couldn’t be detained any longer under the existing laws. The new law wouldn’t apply to him as it is not retrospective in nature. Lawmakers under public pressure against the release of the juvenile convict took up the Bill for discussion on Tuesday.

The new Bill provides for the trial of those between 16 and 18 years as adults for heinous offences. Anyone between the ages of 16 and 18 who commits a less serious offence may be tried as an adult if he is apprehended after he attains the age of 21. Union Women and Child Development Minister while giving details of the Bill said that borstals — custodial institutions for young offenders — would be set up under the proposed law to house juveniles accused of heinous crime. “They (juvenile convicts) will not stay with adults in jails meant for adults. They will be kept in borstals. It does not exist at present and it will be created,” she added.

“The convicted juveniles will stay in borstals till they attain the age of 21, and will be evaluated to decide whether they should be released. There will be a review, if they still have a criminal bent of mind, they will serve the complete sentence,” she said. Gandhi also said that juvenile crime was being encouraged by the existing law.

“Juveniles’ involvement in crime is increasing the fastest. Children walk into police stations and say we have murdered, send us to a juvenile home,” the minister said.

Speaking during the discussion, Leader of Opposition in RS, Ghulam Nabi Azad pointed out that the Nirbhaya incident in December 2012 shook the entire nation. “It was a terrifying incident,” Azad said, adding the current law was being “misused.” He added: “We must improve lighting in the streets and increase police patrolling. That will help in prevention of such crimes.”

“Nirbhaya’s mother is not just fighting to seek justice for her daughter but also to ensure that such crimes do not occur in the future,” he added. Janata Dal (United) member Kahkashan Parveen said that the juveniles are often tricked into committing a crime. “The focus should be on the crime and not age,” Parveen said.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien made an emotional speech in support of the Bill and said he would have “taken out a gun and shot” a man if he attacked his daughter. “Had it been my daughter, God forbid, what would I do? Would I have trusted the laws of the country or hire the best lawyers or taken out a gun and shot him? I would have taken out a gun and shot him. So it is an emotional matter,” he said, adding: “I urge Parliament to put laws that ordinary citizens want. I stand here to support the Bill. It is a good Bill and we shouldn’t wait for an ideal Bill.”

Bahujan Samaj Party MP Satish Chandra Misra said the provision for the circumstances leading to crime should be excluded in case of rape.

The Nationalist Congress Party said that the Bill be sent to the Select Committee. The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also demanded that the Bill be sent to the Select Committee. “We are lawmakers and we must speak responsibly,” party leader Sitaram Yechury said. Later, CPI-M members walked out of the House over the Bill. The Bill was taken up for voting later in the evening and passed in the Rajya Sabha.

The salient points