House must approve the welcome amendments
The Union Cabinet deserves praise for clearing amendments to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, which ensure that juveniles who commit heinous crimes like rape and murder will be brought to justice. The Act in its present form provides a shield to such criminals, who get a maximum of three years in a reforms home for even the worst barbarity. The Cabinet endorsement is a culmination of the excellent efforts that Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi made since she took charge, to revamp the juvenile justice law. So-called child rights activists have been opposing changes on various specious grounds, and they will step up the clamour now. They must be ignored in the larger social interest. laws are made to protect the dignity of and provide justice to innocent citizens, and not to offer concessions to criminals. Those who claim that the changes approved are draconian and strike at the reformative aspect of justice, should note the salient features of the proposal. The first is that the Juvenile Justice Board will have the flexibility to decide whether the juvenile accused deserves to be tried by a regular court. In other words, the Board may still opt for the reforms home measure in case the accused is found to be involved in minor offences. But, if the juvenile faces grave charges, the Board can refer the matter to a regular court. This is as fair as fair can be. The second proposed change to the law is that no juvenile, even if tried in a regular court, can be sentenced to death or a life-term. In other words, the doors to reform remain open. The third change is the lowering of age of juveniles from 18 years 16. Given the safety nets enumerated above and the fact that juveniles even at the age of 16 have been committing terrible crimes, while in the know of the implications and the consequences, the change in definition is not unjustified.
The need for a revamp of the Juvenile Justice Act came to the fore in the wake of the December 16, 2012, incident of brutal gang rape of a medical intern in a moving bus in Delhi. Many other incidents of similar nature have taken place since — and had occurred before. In the Mumbai Shakti Mills rape case, a juvenile has got away lightly. More recently, a 19-year old was stabbed to death in broad daylight by a bunch of people, including juveniles, in Delhi. In the wake of such incidents on the rise — a fact that is substantiated by statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau — several voices had spoken out on the urgent need to amend the law.
The other reason why the Government had to take the bull by the horns is the refusal of the judiciary to be proactive in the matter. Although some weeks ago, a Supreme Court judge was moved to wonder why juveniles should be given ‘blanket immunity', the court had on previous occasions turned down pleas that regular courts should try juveniles accused of rape and murder. On an earlier occasion, the apex court rejected a similar request on the ground that incidents of juveniles accused of grave crimes were few, and that ‘exceptions' cannot determine the general rule. One hopes our lawmakers will approve the amended Bill when it comes before Parliament.