Members of the Rajya Sabha today gave their unequivocal assent to the passing of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014..CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury protested during the end of the deliberations in Parliament. He posed the question as to whether laws should be made by succumbing to public outrage. Despite the protests, the Bill was passed sans any amendment..The most disputed change to the existing Juvenile Justice Act in the wake of recent cases is the fact that a juvenile between the ages of 16-18 can be tried as an adult for heinous offences..A “heinous” offence is defined in the Bill as an offence for which the minimum punishment is imprisonment for seven years or more. The Juvenile Justice Board will be tasked with conducting preliminary inquiry into the nature of the offence and other circumstances. Such inquiry is required to be completed within a month..This particular clause has proved to be highly contentious, with some experts such as Swagata Raha arguing that the JJB is meant to act from the point of view of the child, rather than decide whether the child should be pushed into the adult criminal justice system..Commenting on the development, Raha said,.“The Rajya Sabha has given into this hate wave. We can understand that people are hurting and are upset about the Delhi gang rape, but the decision is bereft of any logic or Constitutional values. It is a complete oversight of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.”.Arlene Manoharan of the Centre for Child and the Law at NLSIU echoed Yechury’s sentiment. She said,.“It should have at least gone to a Select Committee. I don’t think this formula is in the interests of either children or victims or society as a whole. On the other hand, there are some provisions in the Bill which I welcome.”.The Bill had come before a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which released its report in February this year. Changes were suggested to the Bill after deliberations with the Ministry of Women and Child Development. These changes include the removal of Clause 7, which proposed to try persons above the age of 21 as adults for offences committed when they were between the ages of 16-18..The Bill proposes the setting up of Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees in every district. It also brings in changes to adoption procedures. A single person is now eligible to adopt a child, however, a single male is not allowed to adopt a girl child. The Bill also provides for ‘aftercare’ of persons between 18-21 years who have left institutional care, with a view to help them enter mainstream society..Read the text of the Bill (via PRS):
Members of the Rajya Sabha today gave their unequivocal assent to the passing of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014..CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury protested during the end of the deliberations in Parliament. He posed the question as to whether laws should be made by succumbing to public outrage. Despite the protests, the Bill was passed sans any amendment..The most disputed change to the existing Juvenile Justice Act in the wake of recent cases is the fact that a juvenile between the ages of 16-18 can be tried as an adult for heinous offences..A “heinous” offence is defined in the Bill as an offence for which the minimum punishment is imprisonment for seven years or more. The Juvenile Justice Board will be tasked with conducting preliminary inquiry into the nature of the offence and other circumstances. Such inquiry is required to be completed within a month..This particular clause has proved to be highly contentious, with some experts such as Swagata Raha arguing that the JJB is meant to act from the point of view of the child, rather than decide whether the child should be pushed into the adult criminal justice system..Commenting on the development, Raha said,.“The Rajya Sabha has given into this hate wave. We can understand that people are hurting and are upset about the Delhi gang rape, but the decision is bereft of any logic or Constitutional values. It is a complete oversight of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.”.Arlene Manoharan of the Centre for Child and the Law at NLSIU echoed Yechury’s sentiment. She said,.“It should have at least gone to a Select Committee. I don’t think this formula is in the interests of either children or victims or society as a whole. On the other hand, there are some provisions in the Bill which I welcome.”.The Bill had come before a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which released its report in February this year. Changes were suggested to the Bill after deliberations with the Ministry of Women and Child Development. These changes include the removal of Clause 7, which proposed to try persons above the age of 21 as adults for offences committed when they were between the ages of 16-18..The Bill proposes the setting up of Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees in every district. It also brings in changes to adoption procedures. A single person is now eligible to adopt a child, however, a single male is not allowed to adopt a girl child. The Bill also provides for ‘aftercare’ of persons between 18-21 years who have left institutional care, with a view to help them enter mainstream society..Read the text of the Bill (via PRS):
