New Delhi: The Parliament today has passed the Juvenile Justice Bill today in Rajya Sabha. The amendment comes at a time where there are immense protests going on across the country to amend the current bill for two reasons.
According to the current Juvenile Justice Bill:
- If the convict is below 18, irrespective of the crime whether how heinous it is or not the convict will receive only a minimum punishment.
- The maximum punishment a convict can receive is 3 years in a reform home.
The amended bill will allow convicts of more than 16 years of age to be tried as adult convicts. The bill was first introduced on 12 August 2014 by the Minister of Women and Child Development in the Parliament.
It should be noted that this act will be against the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The current bill will allow convicts between 16-18 years of age to be tried as adults if they commit heinous crimes like Rape and Murder.
As the bill passed in Rajya Sabha, it will now go into Lok Sabha for the bill passing and then the President for his accord. The Supreme Court will then consider this as a law to be approved by the rule of law.