A parliamentary committee has rejected the government’s proposal to consider juveniles as adults for disgraceful crimes like rape and murder. Though the proposal stated that the offenders will not be summoned to life imprisonment or death penalty, the proposal was denied.
Photo: PTI
Minister for women and child development Maneka Gandhi, who was heading for the changes, had recently said that she is in favour of treating juveniles and adults equally who have committed odious crimes.
She said, “According to police data, 50% of all sexual crimes were committed by 16-year-olds who know the Juvenile Justice Act so they can do it.”
The women and child development ministry propounded that juveniles who are in between of ages 16 to 18 and were guilty of despicable crimes or were found to be repeaters of kidnapping, trafficking, attempted murder or scandalizing the modesty of women can be subjected to a longer term in prison than the three years mandated under Justice Juvenile Act.
The ministry was criticised by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and child rights activists for acting against the international course and in violation of the UN convention that India has signed.
