Maneka Gandhi puts onus on Rajya Sabha, asks it to clear Bill on Nirbhaya

Union Minister for Women and Child Development said that 16 year-olds should be brought under the ambit of the law as well

Putting the onus on the Rajya Sabha to clear the bill on mandatory registration of offenders, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi on Monday said that it was important to bring a juvenile within the ambit of law.

"I wish the Rajya Sabha would allow me to pass this Act, at least it would give relief. They should be kept under watch. At the moment, you are not even allowing me to pass a bill. We are all stuck," Gandhi told the media.

"We have seen for the last two years, that the act is stuck in the Rajya Sabha. Nowadays it is important to bring 16- year olds within the ambit of law as well, and to give them the belief that if they commit heinous crimes, they will be taken to task," she added.

She further pointed out that she would be meeting the Home Minister in the evening to say that some safeguards should be put into place.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy said that he was hopeful about the courts handing down an order to prevent the release of the juvenile involved in the December 2012 gang rape case in outer Delhi.

The victim's father also said that the juvenile convict must not be freed as he might be a 'threat to society'.

"It is not about being a juvenile or an adult, but about crime. The crime he has committed, and after he is released will definitely affect the youth in the country. He is a threat to the society. I believe that he should not be released anyhow. The person who can sit inside jail and learn to be a jihadi; what will he do outside," asked the victim's father.

Earlier in the day, the Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments with the Congress Party insisting on the dismissal of the SAD-led government in Punjab for its inability in maintaining law and order.