The number of cases of heinous crimes committed by minors in the national capital is likely to come down once the new juvenile justice legislation comes into force, Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi today said.
"As far as cases related to minors are concerned, we are awaiting the President's assent on the new juvenile justice act, following which such problems are likely to be solved," he said replying to a question posed at the Delhi Police annual conference here.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill 2015, which provides for lowering the age for trial from 18 years in cases of heinous crime, was passed by Rajya Sabha last December amid a debate triggered by the release of the juvenile (now adult) convict in the December 16 gangrape.
Later in the day, official sources said that President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to the Act in this regard.
As per the new proposed legislation, juveniles falling in the age group of 16-18 can be tried for such crimes.
Incidentally, as per central government's figures, there was a 30 per cent rise in number of juvenile offenders in the country from 2012 (36,822) to 2014 (48,230). The data pertains to the National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, with the juveniles being apprehended under the Indian Penal Code and Special Local Laws.
Bassi, when asked if juveniles were being used as pawns to commit crimes, said, "the situation will change now."
"Now, with this law, the situation would be different... the new law, once enacted, will not only serve as a deterrent to potential offenders but also add more teeth to the police force," he told PTI on the sidelines of the conference.
As per records rolled out by the Delhi Police today, 2,095 cases of rape, 5,192 molestations and 1,444 cases of eve-teasing were reported till December 15 last year, compared to 2,085 rapes, 4,182 molestations and 1,282 eve-teasing cases in the corresponding period previous year.
Under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 82 cases were reported in that period last year while 104 cases in 2014.
