Cabinet drops amendments to Juvenile Act from agenda, prefers re-look

New Delhi: A proposal to try juveniles in the 16-18 age group accused of heinous crimes under the IPC was “dropped” from the agenda of the Union cabinet today amid opposition by rights activists and a Supreme Court observation that there was a need to re-examine laws on the issue.[caption id=“attachment_2188187” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Policemen in plain clothes escort the juvenile accused (C) in the 2011 New Delhi gangrape case. AFP [/caption] The women and child development ministry had rejected the recommendations of a parliamentary committee not to try juveniles in the age group of 16 to 18 years under laws governing the adults (IPC). Juveniles are tried under the provisions of Juvenile Justice Act at present. The bill was referred to the standing committee and the ministry had accepted some of the recommendations and rejected some others. The bill was brought before the cabinet for a final call. Official sources said that the proposal was “not at all taken in the cabinet and was dropped from the agenda”. Two senior ministers said after the meeting that a need was felt to have a “thorough look” at the provisions proposed in the amendment bill. The sources said that the ministry also wanted to examine the observation of the Supreme Court made yesterday that tough provisions are required to try juveniles accused of heinous crimes like rape, murder and acid attack. Rejecting the recommendation of the parliamentary committee, the Ministry of Women and Child Development was seeking cabinet approval once again for its proposal to try juveniles aged between 16-18 years who commit heinous crimes under laws governing adults. During the recent Budget session, the Parliamentary Standing Committee for human resources development, had tabled a report that rejected any such provision in the proposed Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014. The Supreme Court had yesterday said there was a need to re-examine various laws dealing with juveniles involved in heinous crimes and asked the government to see whether necessary changes could be done to have a deterrent effect. The apex court said the spurt in involvement of minors in heinous crimes stressed the imperative need to mull changes in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. PTI