On Wednesday, the cabinet decided to amend the Juvenile Justice Act to allow minors above the age of 16 who are involved in heinous crimes to be tried in the courts as adults.
Under the amendment, the Juvenile Justice Board will decide whether the minor involved should be sent to an observation home, as all juvenile delinquents are under the present system, or to a criminal court. However, if convicted, the minor cannot be awarded the death sentence or life imprisonment.
While the proposed change covers the Juvenile Justice Act as a whole, it focuses on heinous crimes like rape and murder. The amendment is aimed at curbing sexual violence. Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi said in July that she was personally working on the law because “according to the police, 50 percent of all sexual crimes are [committed by] 16 year olds, who know the Juvenile Justice Act so they can do it”.
Gandhi’s estimates are off by a mile. Over the last six years, National Crime Records Bureau data shows that instances of juvenile rape have formed less than 6% of all registered cases of rape.
But even these cases of juvenile rape needs to be taken with a “carton of salt” , said Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association. The NCRB data includes several rape cases filed against boys by parents of girls with whom they in consenting relationships, she said.
Since the the age of consent is 18, sex between teenagers are automatically classified as statutory rapes. “With this change in the Juvenile Justice Act, you will be arresting them,” Krishnan said. "Whatever happens in the trial, a jail sentence is bound to follow because it is statutory rape."
Many lawyers and activists oppose the amendment, which they see against a knee-jerk reaction against increased sexual violence in the country.
There is good reason to fix the age of adulthood at 18, said Donna Fernandes from Vimochana, a forum for women’s rights in Bangalore. "The belief is that the brain is not as developed as an adult so the hope is that they can be put into a school for reform and there can be a system for change," she explained.
Activists say that there is no evidence to show that the threat of punishment is an effective deterrent against sexual crimes. On the other hand, thrusting juveniles into the criminal justice system will only serve to harden them, observes Shailja Mehta of Aangan Trust, a Mumbai NGO that works on systems to protect children. There will be little chance to rehabilitate minors after they are released from prison.
“This is not to say that they don’t have to face the repercussions of committing a crime," Mehta clarified. "You have to make the time in the special homes stringent, strictly rehabilitative, make them understand what they have done and how to mend their ways." But this amendment, she said, is "just transferring the problem from the juvenile system to the adult criminal system".
Under the amendment, the Juvenile Justice Board will decide whether the minor involved should be sent to an observation home, as all juvenile delinquents are under the present system, or to a criminal court. However, if convicted, the minor cannot be awarded the death sentence or life imprisonment.
While the proposed change covers the Juvenile Justice Act as a whole, it focuses on heinous crimes like rape and murder. The amendment is aimed at curbing sexual violence. Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi said in July that she was personally working on the law because “according to the police, 50 percent of all sexual crimes are [committed by] 16 year olds, who know the Juvenile Justice Act so they can do it”.
Gandhi’s estimates are off by a mile. Over the last six years, National Crime Records Bureau data shows that instances of juvenile rape have formed less than 6% of all registered cases of rape.
But even these cases of juvenile rape needs to be taken with a “carton of salt” , said Kavita Krishnan, secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association. The NCRB data includes several rape cases filed against boys by parents of girls with whom they in consenting relationships, she said.
Since the the age of consent is 18, sex between teenagers are automatically classified as statutory rapes. “With this change in the Juvenile Justice Act, you will be arresting them,” Krishnan said. "Whatever happens in the trial, a jail sentence is bound to follow because it is statutory rape."
Many lawyers and activists oppose the amendment, which they see against a knee-jerk reaction against increased sexual violence in the country.
There is good reason to fix the age of adulthood at 18, said Donna Fernandes from Vimochana, a forum for women’s rights in Bangalore. "The belief is that the brain is not as developed as an adult so the hope is that they can be put into a school for reform and there can be a system for change," she explained.
Activists say that there is no evidence to show that the threat of punishment is an effective deterrent against sexual crimes. On the other hand, thrusting juveniles into the criminal justice system will only serve to harden them, observes Shailja Mehta of Aangan Trust, a Mumbai NGO that works on systems to protect children. There will be little chance to rehabilitate minors after they are released from prison.
“This is not to say that they don’t have to face the repercussions of committing a crime," Mehta clarified. "You have to make the time in the special homes stringent, strictly rehabilitative, make them understand what they have done and how to mend their ways." But this amendment, she said, is "just transferring the problem from the juvenile system to the adult criminal system".
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