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The Juvenile Justice Bill 2014 has been passed in Lok Sabha today. The amendment bill in Juvenile Justice Act will allow treating 16-18-year-olds as adults when involved in heinous crimes. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection Children) Bill 2014 was introduced by Women and Child Development MinisterManeka Gandhi on 12 August 2014 in lower house. The Bill will be presented in Rajya Sabha on May 11. (Also read: ‘Proposed Juvenile Justice Bill not in children’s interest’)
The amendment will empower Juvenile Justice (JJ) Boards to take a call on whether to treat 16-18-year-olds as adults if they are involved in heinous crimes. Such juveniles may face a jail term, if convicted, but will not be awarded life terms or the death penalty. Currently, if an accused is determined to be a juvenile (under 18 years), he is tried by the JJ Board and, if convicted, is sent to a juvenile home for a period of three years.
Earlier the Opposition including Congress opposed the Bill and stating that the government is not focusing the core reason of the problem. The bill had been proposed in the wake of public outcry after the brutal Delhi gangrape incident in which a juvenile convict got away with a lighter punishment getting benefit of his age.
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