Rajya Sabha Votes and Passes Juvenile Justice Bill
The Juvenile Justice Bill was tabled in Parliament today. Follow for live updates on the discussion.
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PJ Kurien, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, puts the Juvenile Justice Act and its amendments to vote.
The House passes Juvenile Justice Bill, three years after the December 16 gangrape-murder incident took place. According to the new Bill,
- The age of juveniles is officially lowered to 16 from 18 years.
- For heinous crimes, minimum punishment will be 3-7 years in prison.
- For petty offences, minimum punishment will be three years in prison.
Sitaram Yechury interrupts before the voting takes place and makes a few points. Appealing the House to act not on emotion, asks the members to consider these points and refer the matter to a select committee.
- We were all part of the protest when the 16 December incident took place.
- We are learning that people who are being radicalised to join ISIS start at the age of 14. Is terrorism not a heinous crime?
- We will not punish the youngest convict in the 16 December incident because the law is not retrospective. So what about him now?
Sitaram Yechury refuses to be part of the voting, walks out of the House.
Maneka Gandhi concludes her speech with the comment,
Maneka Gandhi says, “We cannot answer the question if a 16-year-old is mature enough to commit a heinous crime, based on studies. If we do that we take away the nurture part in the nature vs nurture equation”.
Maneka clarifies that psychologists and experts will be included in the Juvenile Justice Board.
Responding to Anand Sharma’s comment, Maneka says, “heinous crimes have been defined. They are murder, rape , acid attack and kidnapping for ransom”.
Maneka Gandhi, Minister for Women and Child Development, replies to the debate on Juvenile Justice Act in the Rajya Sabha.
Maneka says, “I am glad most of you have read the Act and have suggestions and questions”.
Maneka begins answering individual MPs over their concerns about pointers in the Acts.
‘Think of Protecting Children, Not Just Punishing Them’
Congress’ Renuka Chaudhary addresses the issue. She speaks about addressing the same issue when it comes to men too.
Chaudhary says, “this Bill is called Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children). It should protect children, not work against them. We must bring-in capacity building measures.”
‘Let’s Do Justice to the Juvenile Too’
Congress’ Anand Sharma agrees in principle but has a few suggestions. He asks if implementing a law will change ground reality.
Sharma makes a point saying, “Even developed countries have differences over this issue and I think we must take emotions out of this, for a moment, and look at the legality”.
Referring to Sanjay Raut’s comments that those committing heinous crimes must be dealt with strictly, he said,
“Today there are new forms of crimes, we need to define what “heinous” means. And when we speak of reforms and rehabilitation, there are a lot of issues to be discussed.”
Anand Sharma also said that currently there are a lot of gaps in the act and that the final law must fill those gaps and address public anger over such crimes.
Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut speaks in the House. He says that December 16 victim Jyoti Singh’s mother Asha Devi, who is in the House, had said that they did not get justice.
He gives the example of Dawood Ibrahim and Ajmal Kasab to explain why it is time to bring-in a law against juveniles who commit heinous crimes.
Raut said it is time to consider a law that will deal strictly with these minors who commit such dangerous and heinous crimes.
‘Should Not Rush it’
Congress’ Viplove Thakur says there is no need to bring-in this Bill with such urgency. She says there are many other laws that have been implemented but that has not helped in changing the situation on ground.
“I am a mother too. I understand the pain but reducing the age to 16 is not going to help. I request everyone to think about it and improve the provisions before implementing it.”
Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “The percentage of crime against women has gone up since 2012. Violent crime constitutes a sizeable proportion in India. None of us have any hesitation in supporting the bill and justice should be done for the victims, but it is equally crucial to protect our children. Bill must have a specific definition of heinous crimes”.
We do not need a new law but just a few amendments to the current one, says Vandana Chavan, NCP, Maharashtra.
Commenting on Satish Mishra’s remark, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “We take strong objection to Mishra ji’s remark on VK Singh; it should be expunged”.
Bahujan Samaj Party’s Satish Mishra derails the discussion for a moment with his comment on BJP leader VK Singh.
“People with polluted mindsets like minister VK Singh should also be sent to reform homes,” he says.
BJP leaders object to the comment.
According to the law, if the crime comes under two laws, then the convict will be made to serve the harsher punishment, clarifies Arun Jaitley on Juvenile Justice Bill.
TMC’s Derek O’Brien makes strong statements in the House. Speaking for the Bill, he says, “I have a daughter and God forbid December 16 must happen again, I’m not sure but I would have taken a gun out and shot the person”.
Some members in the House object to the statement. Derek clarifies that he was not sending a message as a member of Parliament but was hypothesizing as a father.
Derek suggests to the House that,
Juvenile convicts must be given not just financial help, but also psychological counselling till they are 21. I would like to ask the Congress and the BJP and all to help pass this Bill.
Voices Against Lowering the Age
Social activist, business woman and Rajya Sabha MP Anu Aga opposed lowering of the age that defines a juvenile from 18 to 16.
- If juvenile commits a crime we as a society have failed.
- We should be discussing the horrible condition of juvenile homes.
- We need to find humane ways to prevent such acts, lowering of age of criminals is not the solution.
- Lowering the minimum age of a juvenile offender will be a step back.
- If a heinous crime is committed by a child who is 14-15, will we further lower the age?
- Refer the bill to a select committee.
Nirbhaya Case Hit the Soul of the Nation: Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress
Led by Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress debated the age related nuances of the Juvenile Justice Bill.
Azad admitted that the current laws are misused by criminals and terrorists.
- A matter of shame that on one hand, we talk about development.
- On the other hand, incidents like this (Delhi gangrape). We were at a stage where Indians abroad had to hide their face over the issue of women’s security.
- The UPA government created the Justice Verma Committee to bring in changes in law.
- When Juvenile Justice Bill was brought up by Rajiv Gandhi government in 1986, the age was set to be 16 years. But when the NDA government came to power in 2000, the age was set at 18 years.
- We should admit that this debate is a result of the former juvenile’s release.
- The nation, people, media…everyone seems divided over the issue of age. Should it be 18 or 16?
- We know that criminals and terrorists misuse the law and get crime committed by juveniles.
Azad split his stand into three points:
- 1. Ensure juveniles punished for serious crimes are not kept with more hardened criminals.
- 2. Juvenile Justice Board needs to be more broad-based. There is no dearth of good people willing to take on the role to be a part of the board.
- 3. There should be enough vocational and educational options inside the juvenile home to ensure reform.
No Retrospective Effect: Naidu
Parliamentary Affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu puts the record straight that the government tried tabling the bill for discussion on multiple occasions. Without mentioning Congress, the minister implies the bill could not come up for discussion earlier because of disruptions. He also adds a reminder for the agitating people across the country that the bill, if enacted, won’t have a retrospective effect. Which means that the former juvenile in the December 16 2012 gangrape case cannot be sent back to jail.
Rajya Sabha Starts Debate on Juvenile Justice Bill
Women and Child Development minister Maneka Gandhi kicked off the discussion on Juvenile Justice Bill at 1400 hrs.
- This is a very nuanced bill...some people are oversimplifying this bill.
- If the JJB decides that a person committed a crime which is not in a child-like fashion, the juvenile shall be sent to an adult system.
- You cannot get more nuanced or more compassionate than this bill.
- Juvenile involvement in crime is fastest rising segment of crime in all crimes. These 16 year old boys know nothing can happen to them except for a three year stint in a juvenile home.
- Are we going to protect the victims or are we going to protect the rapists?
- This bill was started by you (Opposition), finished by us but it affects us all.
- New bill will form another legal layer to review cases individually.
- Must discern if certain juveniles should be treated as adults.
- If the convict has reformed, then he will walk free otherwise he will be put in jail.
- According to the amended Juvenile Justice Bill, the convict will stay in an apostle till he turns 21.
- And after inspecting whether the convict has reformed or not, the action will be taken.
- The new bill focuses on rehabilitation
New Biill will mandate regular review of juvenile convicts.
Congress, JDU, NCP divided over passing Juvenile Justice Bill in the Rajya Sabha, reports NDTV quoting sources.
Jyoti’s Parents Meet Rahul Gandhi
Jyoti Singh’s parents met with Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi ahead of the Rajya Sabha debate on the Juvenile Justice Bill.
Child Rights Activists Protest Against Juvenile Bill
Child rights activists are protesting against the Juvenile Justice Bill.
The government urged Congress to help in passage of key bills including on amendments to Juvenile Justice Act in Rajya Sabha
Parents Remain Hopeful; To Witness Debate
Jyoti Singh’s parents will be present in Rajya Sabha today to witness the discussion on Juvenile Justice Bill.
Jyoti’s mother Asha Devi feels that had the bill been passed in time, the former juvenile wouldn’t have walked free.
Govt Assures Parents
Government has assured parents of the December 16 gang rape victim Jyoti Singh that Juvenile Justice Bill which will allow juveniles between 16-18 years to be tried as adults in heinous crime will be passed today. The parents of the victim met Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi earlier today.
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