DCW chief welcomes amendment to Juvenile Justice Act

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief, Barkha Singh Shukla, said on Thursday that she welcomes the amendment in the Juvenile Justice Act passed by the Union cabinet yesterday.

Barkha told ANI, "In a way I welcome this. It is a correct decision. But, even in this there should be one more provision that the ones who commit heinous crimes, like murder or rape, should be given the same punishment as to any other accused of same crime."

"Otherwise it is good that the bill has been passed from the cabinet," she added.

The amendment in the Juvenile Justice Act was approved by the Union cabinet yesterday. It proposes to treat juveniles older than 16 years as adults if involved in heinous crimes such as rape and murder.

The amended bill has the provisions that juveniles convicted for heinous crimes may face a jail term but will not be awarded life sentence or death penalty.

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) will decide whether cases where a juvenile is involved in a heinous crime, would be tried under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act or normal trial court.

At present, if an accused person is found to be a juvenile or under 18 years, he is tried by the Juvenile Justice Board and if convicted, is sent to a juvenile reform home for a maximum period of three years.