Rajya Sabha, Indian upper house of Parliament, passed the Juvenile Justice Bill. The bill will let juveniles be punished by law and be tried in court despite being minor.
The bill was finally approved by the Congress' upper house after the juvenile in the famous Delhi gang rape was set free after three years in a reform facility. According to BBC News, there was uproar and campaigns were made left and right to change the law. When the convicted man (he was a minor when the incident happened) was released, the courts said there is no law saying that his jail time can be extended. Thus, making Congress pass the bill to make up for the lack of justice served.
The Indian Panorama reported that the bill only needs the president's signature to fully become a law. The bill was permitted to pass by the Lok Sabha - the lower house in May this year. Though the law cannot change the decision made in the 2012 rape case, it will be use for future cases. Furthermore, the authorities are saying that the numbers of juveniles being arrested and convicted for serious crimes are increasing every year. The supporters of the law are happy that there is now prevention to the crimes.
There are mixed reaction to this bill. The Times of India reported that there are also people who are against the new bill. Some people like Abhay Mangal, law intern, RML Law College, thinks it should not be age that determines the punishment but the seriousness of the crime itself. But for Roheen Trivedi, a student of Bangalore University, the aim of the new bill which is to not let juvenile criminals evade punishment for their adult and heinous crimes is good. Another student, Riya John said if convicted juveniles are free to walk, tomorrow the authority will regret it because they have the boldness to do it again because they know they will be protected by the legal system.
This step is definitely a bog one for India. Many women and Human rights group are very happy with this news.
