Juvenile Justice Nexus

It was interesting to watch the politicians discussing the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill in the Upper House. Leaders from different political parties express their views and after a healthy debate the bill was passed, which is unusual and a big achievement nowadays in the Indian Parliament.

What's In The Bill?

Juvenile age is reduced from 18 to 16 and they will be tried under the law for committing serious and heinous crimes like an adult. But if a juvenile is found guilty of an allegation, followed by the enquiry, he/she will not directly be sent to jail. The Juvenile Justice Board has experts and psychologists, who will first decide whether the crime committed has been “child-like” or was it committed in an “adult frame of mind”. If a court decides them to be sent to an adult jail, they will still have the power to appeal. But after having been convicted, they will be sent to a borstal until they are 21 years old, after which there will be a review. Apart from taking action against criminals, who were believed to be a child, this law has also taken compassion and counselling into consideration which is required while dealing with children. So the law is balanced without any critical loophole.

The law is not made for a particular person but a particular case can definitely make people realize the need for a law in order to bring a reform in society. The particular case because of which some amendments was needed is the Nirbhaya case. But, should the concerned juvenile be hanged? This is a very sensitive issue. Some students in Delhi just need an agenda to protest about. The demand to hang the juvenile is thoughtless when there was not a law even to put the juvenile behind bars. Legislation and justice, if driven by emotions, will lead to chaos. That is why "law is blind" and it acts, behaves and thinks rationally. When we get an infection in one part of our body, we don't remove it from our body but heal that part. Similarly, the need is to eradicate the crime rather than eradicating the criminals. And just like the initial stage of infection are easy to heal, the juvenile minds infected with crimes can be easily modified. This is the needs of a constructive society.

So, should the age of children, to be eligible for punishment for committing a crime, be reduced from 18 to 16? Do share your opinion...

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