Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill passed by RS, stuck on Twitter
Barely a day after the juvenile rapist of December 16 gang rape and murder victim, Jyoti Singh Pandey, better known as Nirbhaya, was released from custody, Rajya Sabha passed the Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill (JJ Bill) on December 22, after a massive uproar from different walks of society.
The JJ Bill, which was brought in by the Union minister of women and child development, Maneka Gandhi, in August 2014, had been passed by Lok Sabha in May this year, but had been pending in Rajya Sabha because of earlier parliamentary logjam.
However, with the staggering hue and cry raised by Asha Devi, Jyoti’s mother, and her repeated pleadings to not release the juvenile convict, which were in turn taken up by DCW chief Swati Maliwal only to be set aside by both Delhi High Court and Supreme Court of India, finally resulted in the Bill being passed by the House of Elders.
Mujhe tasalli hai par dukh bhi ki Nirbhaya ko nyay nahi mila-Nirbhaya's Mother on juvenile justice bill passed in RS pic.twitter.com/P4k5Dhr0lt
— News Pictures (@News_Pictures1) December 23, 2015I'm happy that everyone supported the Juvenile Justice Bill and want to thank everyone: Maneka Gandhi pic.twitter.com/AbATlEIaqO
— News Pictures (@News_Pictures1) December 23, 2015Smt. @Manekagandhibjp urges parliamentarians to pass #JuvenileJusticeBill in her introductory remarks in Rajya Sabha https://t.co/c1MY4ho3qz
— BJP (@BJP4India) December 22, 2015An honour and privilege to speak on #JuvenileJustice Bill at #Parliament today. Here is the 10 minute video link | https://t.co/88REP1KK7J
— Derek O'Brien (@quizderek) December 22, 2015Defn of he㏌ous crimes needs a re-look，ⅵctim and child rights must b protected．my speech on #JuvenileJustice bill: https://t.co/AlDYQisipG
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@rajeev_mp) December 22, 2015In fact, BJP members of Parliament had assured Asha Devi that they would try pass the Bill on December 22, with mainstream media playing her calls for justice on a loop. While Maneka Gandhi made a passionate plea in the Rajya Sabha, and thanked it once the controversial Bill was cleared, the Left parties staged a walk out and refrained from voting because they wanted the Bill to be referred to a standing committee, citing its violations of UNHRC conventions on fundamental and child rights.
Importantly, the Justice Verma panel, set up to bolster the criminal procedure code, too, was against lowering of the age for trying juvenile delinquents.
On Buck Stops Here : #NirbhayaLaw- Parliament passes a new Juvenile Law goes through. Historic moment pushed by public pressure?
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) December 22, 2015One more badly thought out legislation. It will not reduce heinous crimes by 17 year olds https://t.co/Zl9E8siUAt
— Shivam Vij (@DilliDurAst) December 22, 2015My old law prof would say: laws must be passed to ensure justice not assuage 'sentiment'. #jjbill
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) December 22, 2015This Juvenile Justice Act is nothing to pat your own back, dear MPs. This is a failure. Panic should never be the emotion behind legislation
— Kamlesh Singh (@kamleshksingh) December 22, 2015THEN Juvenile X Crime: Rape-Murder Age: 15 years, 11 months, 29 days 3 years in protection home NOW Age: X+1 day Die! Same problem again
— Kamlesh Singh (@kamleshksingh) December 22, 2015Nirbhaya's mother says she's relieved the Juvenile Justice Bill finally went through https://t.co/lbrkpEtjgj To continue fight vs juvenile
— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) December 23, 2015Key takeaways from the passage of the Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill are as follows:
A. Juveniles aged 16-18 may be tried as adults
Now juveniles between 16-18 years convicted in a heinous crime may face a maximum of seven years in (adult) jail, if the Juvenile Justice Board concludes that the juvenile convict was of sound mental and psychological conditions while committing the crime.
I welcome the move by Parliament to pass #JuvenileJustice Bill & congratulate parliamentarians across parties in prioritizing children today
— Kailash Satyarthi (@k_satyarthi) December 22, 2015Whether it’s a crime by a child or on a child, with #JuvenileJustice Bill, focus will now hopefully become reform, restitution & deterrence.
— Kailash Satyarthi (@k_satyarthi) December 22, 2015He took out her intestines, 4 God'ssake. We r debating his rehabilitation in terms of wat sewing machine 2giv him.God! #JuvenileJusticeBill
— Sonal Kalra (@sonalkalra) December 22, 2015B. #CrimeNotAge divides legislators, activists
According to WCD minister Maneka Gandhi, crimes, particularly sexual and violent crimes, committed by juveniles have shot up, which is reason enough to lower the age for criminals getting harsher punishments in the court of law. #CrimeNotAge trended all day, with many politicians, particularly from the BJP and TMC, including TMC MP Derek O’ Brien, making emotional pitches to pass the pending JJ Bill.
Public pressure triumphs. Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill passed by the Rajyba Sabha. Netas forced to pass an act they didn't want to.
— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) December 22, 2015Wrote to Head of political parties n leaders of Rajya Sabha to kindly ensure that Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill is passed in this session
— SwatiMaliwal JaiHind (@SwatiJaiHind) December 22, 2015But for Nirbhaya's parents++the Juvenile Justice Bill would never have been passed by Rajya Sabha with the sense of urgency it did today..!
— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) December 22, 2015C. Left-liberals staunchly opposed to Bill
However, their claims have been contradicted by human rights organisations such as Amnesty India, Human Rights Watch, Child Rights and You, as well as legislators such as Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Left leaders Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat, among others, who have been vociferously opposed to the Bill. They main argument is that juveniles between 16-18 do not have psychological restraint to control their actions, which are imitations of what they see around them.
Some healthy arguments against #JuvenileJusticeBill .. https://t.co/EAdK6ZNQsG #juvenilejustice
— Lunagaria Chirag (@Chirag_jkl) December 22, 2015#JyotiSingh's rape & death is not an EXCUSE to pass the new bill. It was THE REASON for doing so. https://t.co/2w6JZkcvRK #JyotiSinghBill
— Chitra Subramaniam (@chitraSD) December 22, 2015So you can't drink in Maharashtra until you're 25, but they want to try 16-year-olds as criminals?
— naresh fernandes (@tajmahalfoxtrot) December 22, 2015Has the death penalty ever been a deterrent to any crime in history? No. But it made society feel a lot better that it couldn't prevent it.
— ☭ Arun Nambiar ☭ (@aruns_nambiar) December 22, 2015Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill passed by Rajya Sabha has appeased the mob. pic.twitter.com/dKY3cdg3WV
— Markandey Katju (@mkatju) December 22, 2015The Juvenile Justice Act 2000, which will be replaced by the JJ Bill once it gets the president’s assent, had a strict limit of three years in a correctional facility in case the juvenile committed a serious or heinous offence. The focus was on reparative justice, and not punitive measures. The JJ Bill will change that, and might particularly impact juvenile delinquents from the poorer classes.