With stiff opposition from the Congress to reducing the age of juveniles on heinous crimes, the lok Sabha on Thursday passed the Juvenile Justice Bill with 42 amendments. The Bill provides for trying juveniles aged between 16 and 18 years for heinous crimes under Indian Penal Code like adults.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill was passed after the Government agreed to delete clause 7 which said if a minor commits a crime at the age between 16 and 18, but is caught when he has turned 21, should be tried under IPC and not juvenile laws. Several MPs pointed out that there was no need of this provision as all adults are in any case tried under IPC. The Bill will now be taken up in the Rajya Sabha.
Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said she has tried to be “pro-child” and made efforts to strike a “fine balance” between justice to victims and rights of children.
Rejecting the allegation that she only loved animals and not children, Maneka said the new law was intended to be a “deterrent” to ensure that juveniles refrain from crimes and avoid spoiling their lives.
Maneka rejected the Opposition contention that the age of 16 years was too less to be tried under laws meant for adults and violative of international conventions. She said under the global conventions, definition of age for such crimes is contextual and depends of economic, social and other conditions prevailing in a particular country. Giving examples, she said such age criteria in England and Australia is 10 years while in Argentina it is 16 years.
Rebutting arguments of Opposition MPs Shashi Tharoor and Deepender Hooda that courts may intervene on this legislation, Maneka said recently Supreme Court also favoured a relook at the law in view of the growing number of juveniles involved in heinous crimes. The MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s allegation that these amendments were aimed to target innocent Muslim youth had provoked the BJP MPs. He also argued that the age reduction of juveniles would be misused against Advasis also in the Naxal-affected areas.
Rejecting the contention by Opposition that the recommendations of the parliamentary Standing Committee were disregarded, she said 11 out of 13 recommendations have been accepted.