Does India Need To Change Its Juvenile Law?

Bangalore: As India is fighting relentlessly for justice, a new finding in the Delhi gang rape case is questioning the concept of justice in the country.  It has been brought forth that the sixth suspect in the heinous rape is affirmed a minor. The Juvenile justice board (JJB) declared the sixth accused as a juvenile. As a minor below 18 years of age, he would probably face 3 years in juvenile detention at the most. This has created a stir in the nation imploring the justice system to modulate the law focused more on the crime than the age of the accused, reported Mark Magnier for LA Times.

If the sixth accused is tried as an adult he would join the rest of the five offenders who could face life imprisonment or even execution. Among the five, two of them Vinay Sharma, gym instructor and driver Mukesh Singh have also contended to be minors.

The police said that the action of the sixth suspect, who is reported to be 17 years and six months of age at the time of the crime, was most brutal. The suspect’s mother informed in an interview with the Reuters news service that he left home when he was 11 years old. The family lost all contacts with him and assumed him to be enslaved by someone or even dead. However he managed to get a job as an errand boy for a bus company.

Also Read: Drug Habits Turning Minors into Criminals