Does India Need To Change Its Juvenile Law?
Raj, a 21 year old billboard painter said that he was arrested by police on theft charges at 16, beaten by them and made to sign blank papers. He was held in the nocuous Tihar jail for two months, before authorities reviewed documentary proof of his age and transferred him to a juvenile facility, where he learned to paint.
He said, “I don't think the legal age for minors should be lowered, everyone should be given a second chance,” as reported by LA Times.
Another former detainee, a 26-year-old law student, Khan who received the first hand experience of the juvenile justice system decided to pursue a career in law. He said he believes the alleged juvenile suspect should be charged as an adult. He further said, “It's not like an abandoned child stealing some food. We don't need education to tell us that women should not be raped," as reported by LA Times.
With the protest in the capital demanding faster and strict punishment, the justice system is still considering the matter from every angle. The sixth suspect, said to be the most brutal declared juvenile has added to the wrath of the mass, however, the need for fairer justice is voicing out for the law to be re-written in the country.
