Rajya Sabha passes Juvenile Justice Bill

Juveniles aged 16 years and above will now be tried under laws for adults for heinous crimes after Rajya Sabha passed the Juvenile Justice Bill on Tuesday.

The government sought support of all parties on the legislation to "deter many other boys" from doing such a crime. The bill which seeks to treat juveniles between 16 to 18 years as adults for committing heinous crimes such as rape will become a law after President Pranab Mukherjee signs the amendments.

While the TMC had extended its full support to the bill during the debate, other parties like JD(U) remained divided over the issue and members of the CPI(M) party staged a walkout just before the bill was put to vote. Maneka Gandhi who had piloted the bill, had read out a list of gruesome crimes committed by juveniles in the House and asked the House how such cases can be handled.

The parents of the December 2012 gangrape victim, known as Nirbhaya, watched the proceedings from the visitor's gallery.

"Glad that juvenile justice bill has been passed, this will help our future generations and prevent crimes, but at the same time we are pained that our daughter could not get justice." said Asha Devi, Nirbhaya's mother, who was almost in tears when she spoke to the media after the bill's passage.

(image credit: PTI)