April 19, 2024 10:36 (IST)
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Am happy that all parties supported Juvenile Justice Bill: Maneka Gandhi
New Delhi, Dec 22 (IBNS): Minutes after the passage of the Juvenile Justice Bill by the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday evening said she is happy that all parties supported the move.
Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament House, Maneka Gandhi said, "This is a Bill everybody felt strongly about and am happy that all parties supported the passage of the Bill."
After Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha passed the Juvenile Justice Bill, which seeks to amend the law to allow trying those over 16 years of age and accused of heinous crimes like the gang-rape of Nirbhaya, as adults.
Ahead of passing the bill, CPI-M lawmaker Sitaram Yechury said a law should not be passed only on the basis of sentiments as the Left walked out over the issue of lowering of age.
He opposed to lowering of the age of juvenile from 18 to 16 for treating as adult after a crime like the rapist and killer of Nirbhaya.
He said lawmakers should pass the law not on sentiment and said the bill should go to select committee first and then passed.
Before him Maneka Gandhi said poverty is not the only reason for a juvenile to commit crimes since many brought up well also commit it.
She said Juvenile Justice board will comprise of psychologists, social workers and experts and a juvenile should be kept in a separate cell in prisons with adults.
Maneka Gandhi on Tuesday made a strong pitch in the Rajya Sabha for the passage of the Bill.
"If the convict has reformed, then he will walk free otherwise he will be put in jail...The new bill will mandate regular review of juvenile convicts," she said and urged the upper house to approve the bill, already passed by the Lok Sabha.
Present in Parliament as the Rajya Sabha debates the Bill are Asha Devi and Badrinath, the parents of Jyoti Singh, a 23-year-old medical student who was gang-raped and tortured by six men on a moving bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012. She died in a Singapore hospital 13 days later.
Congress member Ghulam Nabi Azad also supported the Bill. "Opinions about the age of juvenile is divided. We will have to keep in mind that the criminals can misuse juveniles," he said.
Opposing the present system of keeping juvenile culprits in homes, Azad said : " One thing is very important. for these culprits there should be a different setup for them. They shouldn’t be kept in the same cell with hardened criminals for the fear that they could turn out even worse than they were."
Jyoti's parents have been leading a mass demand for a change in the law. While Jyoti's other attackers have been sentenced to death, the youngest was released on Sunday after three years in a remand home. Now 20, he could not be tried in court for the brutal murder as he was a few months short of 18 at the time of the attack.
Asha Devi says she understands that a change in law will now not affect her case, but feels it is the least she can do for other women.
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