JJ Act amendment: Delhi gang-rape victim's parents demand retrial of convicted juvenile

The parents of the deceased victim of the 16 December, 2012 gang-rape in New Delhi want the juvenile convict to be re-tried in the wake of the amendments to the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act approved by the Cabinet. [caption id=“attachment_1654185” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The 16 December, 2012 Delhi gang-rape caused protests across the nation. AFP[/caption] “We are sad that the juvenile got light punishment. We want him to be retried,” said the victim’s mother, according to TV reports. “This move by the government (JJ Act amendment) is correct. It will send the right message. Juveniles will be afraid of committing such crimes in the future,” she added. A proposal which will empower the Juvenile Justice Board to decide whether a juvenile above 16 years involved in heinous crimes such as rape is to be sent to an observation home or tried in a regular court was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday. In fact, the proposed amendments themselves came against the backdrop of outrage over the lighter punishment of three years in a reform home given to the juvenile convicted in the Delhi gang-rape case. Bahujan Samjwadi Party chief Mayawati supported this amendment and said the government had made the right move. Following the Delhi gang-rape incident, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had approached the Supreme Court seeking changes in the laws for those juveniles who willfully commits heinous crimes. Lawyer and activist Abha Singh said, “In the Delhi gang-rape case, the juvenile was the most brutal. Juveniles should not be given benefits. If they come out after ten years, they will commit more brutal crimes. They should be given life imprisonment, if not death penalty.” However, according to the Bill, in no case will the juvenile involved in a heinous crime be sentenced to death or life imprisonment, either when tried under the provisions of JJ Act or under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The proposed amendments also included facilitating faster adoption of children and setting up foster care homes. The Ministry of Women and Child Development intends to make the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) the statutory body, which means it will have powers to regulate inter-country adoptions along with issuing guidelines on adoption and related matter. (With inputs from PTI)