ABSTRACT
The Retribution given to an adult is not as the same for a child though the crime committed by them are same. Juvenile delinquency is an act or omission by a child or young fantasy, which is punishable by law. The Delhi gang rape in a bus where the juvenile offender had been released after 3 years of term at the probation home, the adult offenders still has a pending review plea for their hanging. The Juvenile Justice act 2015 provides that the juvenile between the age of 16-18 can be tried as an adult for any heinous offences.
In this research paper, we would like to discuss the cases where a juvenile offender has not been given appurtenant punishment and specifically juvenile involved in the Delhi gang rape. We would also like to give suggestions about the juvenile justice act.
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INTRODUCTION
A life of a girl is full of happiness and challenges. From the time she goes out till she reaches home society imposes a lot of challenges on her path. This becomes the most traumatic challenge for every girl. One such shocking incident which frightened the feminine class in the society was a heinous gang rape committed in New Delhi. Nirbhaya had a tough night with the monsters who had molested her. This case brought fear in every Indian parent to take care of their children and to pluck out them from the eyes of the evil. Due to the occurrence of rape which is happening every 6 minutes in India many parents hesitated to educate their girl children in fear of beasts in human form. The Delhi rape case which flabbergasted the whole society made the parliament to take immediate action and to amend the Juvenile Justice Act by treating the juveniles from age group of 16 to 18 years as adults in case of such heinous crimes.
THE AMENDMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT, 2015
The Nirbhaya case was considered to be one of the horrifying rape case in the history of India. Out of the four rapists one was a juvenile who had brutally committed the rape but was unfortunately given lesser punishment than the other 3 adults who were given capital punishment. Many NGO’s and other women organisations raised their voices against the juvenile rapist, after which the parliament of India enacted Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Child) Act, 2015[endnoteRef:1] which stated that if any juvenile offender from the age group of 16-18 will be punished and treated as adults in heinous crimes. But even though the parliament has taken these measures the injustice given to Nirbhaya on the case of juvenile accused portray the lacuna in the law of India where a law is blindly followed forgetting its very own purpose to give justice. [1: www.advocatekhoj.com]
JUVENILE OFFENDERS IN OTHER COUNTRIES
- In the United states of America, nearly 20 states had tried and sentenced juveniles as adults to imprisonment for heinous offences. A 13-year-old boy in Florida who was accused of beating his half-brother to death while sexually abusing another five – year – old half – brother was charged as an adult. The United States of America is one of the two countries - the other being South Sudan -which is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Rights of the Child.
- In France, a separate court called Juvenile Assize court[endnoteRef:2] tries serious offences committed by minors from age group of 16 – 18 years for which a law was also enacted to provide criminal response for juvenile delinquency. [2: https//:www.en.wikipedia.org]
- The United Kingdom is a signatory; it has kept heinous crimes like rape and murder out of the ambit of its Youth Justice System.
- Belgium is the first country to have a best Juvenile Justice Act. It considers the juvenile rapists to be treated as an adult and to get the maximum punishment.
MORAL ASPECTS OF RAPE
Rape is a heinous offence but it is considered to be an understudied offence. Rape is not an offence which comes out of anger or misconduct. This is a spontaneous act made by a person or group of people without any personal vengeance or any kind of preparation made by them or without the consent of the victim. Rape has become a global threat and it shows the demonic side of many. If a minor commits theft it could be because of hunger and poverty. But if a minor tends to commit rape or rapes a woman, that itself proves that the minor is one no more a child as he knows what is wrong and what is not. Rape cannot be done by a child mind. In Nirbhaya’s case, it was clearly evident that the minor was very beastful in nature and he was the main accused of the case who molested her badly and struck a rod into her intestines. But the media covered it as there is no evidence to prove the violence caused by him.
As a Juvenile, the mind set to torture and abuse a woman is in itself a grave crime. The juvenile convict, who was the most brutal among the rest for causing the victim's death walked away with three years confinement in a juvenile home. By giving him only 3 years imprisonment proved to show a grave miscarriage of justice. The Juvenile Justice Act has been enacted to protect minors not rapists to give another chance to live their life whereas the victim has been already dead. For serious offences like rape, murder and kidnap the retribution should be as equal as an adult because the offence itself is horrendous. Delhi based clinical psychologist Dr. Rajat Mitra, who works in the juvenile care homes stated that the 16-year-old boy in the Nirbhaya case is the one who had lured the victim in the bus and call her “Didi” in his sweet singing voice. Whether this act can be done by a child mind? This is the question the judiciary have to look into. The Lok Sabha stated that the crimes of the juveniles have been increased 50.6 percent in the year 2005 – 2014[endnoteRef:3]. Nearly 50,000 juveniles has been arrested. [3: www.slideshare.com]
CONCLUSION
Children are celebrated as an angel who has descended from Heaven in a child form. If the angel turns into a devil he must be thrown into the hell of fire. Rape is not an offence which happens due to poverty or unemployment. Cruel mind constitutes the offence. The amendment which is been brought by the parliament in the year 2015 to treat them as adults for the heinous crimes marks as a stepping stone towards each and every minor criminal from age 16. The Nirbhaya’s minor convict is the major source for the amendment. So, the juvenile convict needs to be treated as like the other four convicts.
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