No death, only life for juveniles for heinous crimes, says Krishna Tirath

NEW DELHI: The Women and Child Development (WCD) ministry’s proposal to try juveniles above the age of 16 years involved in heinous crimes as adults comes with several riders.

Elaborating on the details of the proposed amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act, WCD minister Krishna Tirath said on Thursday that a juvenile accused of crimes such as murder, acid attack, rape and gangrape, will face trial as an adult under the IPC only if the Juvenile Justice Board deems it fit.

She also ruled out death penalty and life imprisonment for the minor convicted of the crime. The latter, according to Tirath, was added to avoid any violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) that defines a child as anyone aged less than 18 years.

The proposed amendment was sent to Union Home and Law Ministry for comments on Thursday evening. “We will try out best to have this introduced in the winter session of the Parliament,” she told reporters.