The killing of a class-2 student of the Ryan International School by a school senior aged 16 once again brings to the fore the heinous crimes committed by juveniles. The sheer bestiality of such crimes has gained increasing voice wanting juveniles to be treated as adults in exceptional cases of severe crimes.

On April 22, 2015, overruling the recommendations of a Parliamentary Review Committee, the Union cabinet gave its approval to proposed amendments to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. What it means that, once the bill, which is likely to be introduced before Parliament during the current session, is passed then children between the ages of 16 and 18 who commit grave crimes to be tried as adults.

Event that prompted the current incumbents in New Delhi to go for taking decisive initiative has been the “2012 Delhi gang rape” wherein a juvenile was painted by the mainstream media as the most heinous perpetrator that led to gruesome death of a young woman.

The amendment to the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act 2000 - recently passed by the Lok Sabha - allowing juveniles in the age group of 16-18 years accused of heinous crimes to be tried as adults has prompted a debate on India's legislation to deal with juvenile delinquents.

A major criticism to the proposed changes is that the existing law was never implemented properly. The JJA (2000) has not been implemented completely. Additionally, the budget allocation for the juvenile justice system, infrastructure, man power is abysmal.

Child rights activists have also questioned the assumption that extreme punitive punishment acts as a deterrent. Various studies conducted in America, after 25 years of the transfer system, have shown that children transferred to the adult criminal justice system commit more serious offences later in life compared to those children who were dealt with under the JJ system.

However, the spurt in the number of crimes committed by juveniles is being cited in support of a harsher treatment of juvenile delinquents. Considering that the rate of heinous crimes committed by juveniles has increased manifold, the proposed amendment is a welcome step.

Crimes are most associated with adults. Murder is especially most associated with adults. When a teenager commits such a crime such as murder they must be tried, and they should not be treated with leniency and coddling, but with the full force of the law as an adult.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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