In a significant legislative move, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari has proposed a crucial amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. The proposed change seeks to lower the age at which a juvenile can be tried as an adult for heinous crimes from the current 16 years to 14 years.
The Rationale Behind the Proposed Amendment
The private member's bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 5. In the statement of objects, Tiwari cited a disturbing national trend: a noticeable surge in the involvement of younger adolescents in severe criminal activities. The bill explicitly mentions a rise in cases where juveniles aged between 14 and 16 years are allegedly involved in grave offences like rape, murder, and other acts of extreme violence.
The existing framework of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, is designed with a child-friendly approach. However, Tiwari's bill argues that the blanket provision treating all individuals below 18 as juveniles, irrespective of the crime's brutality, has raised serious questions about the justice system's effectiveness. There is a growing concern that the current law may not adequately address the gravity of such offences or deliver a sense of accountability.
How the New Amendment Would Work
If the amendment is passed, it will fundamentally alter the process for dealing with teenagers accused of serious crimes. Currently, a juvenile who commits a heinous offence after turning 16 can be assessed by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB). The JJB then decides if the case should be transferred to a children's court to try the individual as an adult under the standard criminal justice system.
The proposed bill seeks to extend this possibility of assessment and potential trial as an adult to children as young as 14 years. This means that for a 14 or 15-year-old accused of a heinous crime, the JJB would now have the authority to evaluate their mental and physical capacity to understand the consequences of the crime. Based on this assessment, the board could order a trial in a children's court, where punishments equivalent to those for adults could be imposed.
Striking a Balance: Rehabilitation vs. Accountability
The proposed legislation emphasizes that its core intent is to find a middle path. It aims to balance the foundational principles of juvenile justice—rehabilitation and the protection of children's rights—with the growing demand for accountability in cases of extreme violence.
Advocates for the change argue that it is necessary to ensure the justice system has the tools to respond appropriately to the most serious crimes, while still maintaining safeguards. The assessment by the JJB is seen as a critical filter, ensuring that not every young offender is automatically tried as an adult, but only those who are deemed to have committed acts of such a nature that the juvenile system is insufficient.
The introduction of this bill is set to reignite a complex national debate on crime, punishment, and the rehabilitation of young offenders in India.
