Woman and Child Development Ministry has asked for public opinion of amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act.
The previous Congress led UPA Ministry had suggested imposing severe punishments namely life imprisonment for juveniles between the ages of 16-18 for heinous crimes like murder, rape or aid attacks.
The proposal had met with severe resistance from child rights activists and NGO as they said that it would not be fair to the juveniles as it would deprive them of an opportunity for correction.
Presently, under JJ Act, all minors — irrespective of their crime-enjoy umbrella protection. The severest of crimes like murders or rapes attract a maximum punishment of a three-year term in a reformatory.
"Since involvement by juveniles in heinous crimes is on an upward rise, the Act in its present form requires changes," said an official from the WCD ministry.
"We are just trying to get a public view on what kind of punishment they think would be appropriate for juveniles involved in big crimes-particularly rape and murders. The idea is to scare the juveniles so that they are deterred from participating in such crimes," he said.
The Congress led Government had proposed adding provisions to existing laws to try juveniles above 16 years at par with adults in acts of murder, rape and acid attack. They had also sought views from ministries of law and Home Affairs but the proposal did not make much headway.