Two days after the juvenile convict in the ghastly 2012 gangrape-cum-murder case walked free for lack of a legal provision, the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill that lowers the age of juveniles from the existing 18 years to 16 years for heinous crimes which warrant at least 7 years of imprisonment, like rape, murder and dacoity-cum-murder. The lok Sabha has already passed the Bill.
The lowering of the age means that those aged 16 and above indulging in heinous crimes will no longer enjoy the protection under the Juvenile Justice law, under which juveniles cannot be tried under normal laws of land that provides up to death for rape and murder. However, the provisions of the new law will not apply to the juvenile convict in the December 16, 2012 case because in a criminal law the principle of retrospectivity does not apply.
The legislation was passed by a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha. The left parties as well some others, including the NCP and the DMK, voiced caution over the Bill. The left parties wanted it to be sent to a Select Committee so that there is no haste in amending the law under emotional pressure.
Significantly, the Bill was passed in the presence of Nirbhaya’s parents, who became the face of the campaign for changing the law. They witnessed the proceeding from Visitors’ Gallery of the Rajya Sabha. They welcomed the passage of the Bill saying it would deter juveniles from committing such ghastly crimes.
However, the mother of the victim rued that there was a lingering feeling of denial of justice in the case of her daughter.
Moving the Bill, Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Maneka Gandhi sought the support of all political parties in the Rajya Sabha to pass the legislation to “deter many other boys” from doing such a crime.
She claimed heinous crimes by those aged 16 years and above were on the rise and cited statistics to support her contention. Allaying concerns expressed by members about the implications of the proposed legislation, Maneka said it was “not against children but rather provides for, protects, nurtures and keeps them safe”.
Explaining the credentials of Bill, the Centre said the Juvenile Justice Board has experts and psychologists who will first decide whether the crime committed has been “child-like” or was it committed in an “adult frame of mind”.
Referring to media reports that the convict in the December 2012 gangrape-cum-murder was radicalised in remand home, Maneka asked what exactly were Kashmiri terrorists doing in a children’s home in the same place as a juvenile convicted of rape.
leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad complimented the Nirbhaya’s parents, especially the mother, saying she is not only fighting for her daughter but also to make sure that there is no other Nirbhaya in the country. Noting that the case had shaken the country, the Congress leader said the Bill was very important.
Taking a dig at the Government, Azad said when the Juvenile law was first enacted by the Rajiv Gandhi dispensation, the cutoff age was 16. “This was subsequently raised to 18 during the NDA Government in 2000 and now they want to come back to the age that Rajiv Gandhi had set in 1986,” he said.
Derek O’ Brien (Trinamool Congress) hit out at the BJP and the Congress saying the parties were obsessed with petty games. Making an emotional statement, O’Brien said, “Had my daughter been at the place of Nirbhaya, I would have shot dead the perpetrators of the crime.”
SP member Ravi Prakash Verma said piecemeal remedy will not work and reminded the Government that tougher laws enacted in the past have failed to check the crime from happening again.
Salient points