First order in case today
The Juvenile Justice Board verdict on one of the suspects in the fatal December 16 gangrape of a 23-year-old paramedic in a moving bus likely Thursday may result in discontent and outrage. Legal experts feel that the call for the juvenile being tried as an adult is not legally tenable.
The defence lawyer has produced school certificates of the accused showing he was 17 years and six months old on December 16, when the alleged crime took place. Moreover, teachers of the school where the accused had last studied have also testified to this fact. This certification is learnt to be sufficient for the accused to be declared a juvenile.
“Under Indian law there are no prior instances of allowing a juvenile to be treated as an adult for a crime committed by him,” said leading lawyer Pinki Anand.
The Justice J.S. Verma committee set up after the gangrape to recommend changes to sex crime laws too rejected calls to lower the age at which juvenile offenders can be tried as adults from 18 to 16.
Moreover, the suspect’s punishment is fixed by the 2000 Juvenile Justice Act, which prescribes trial as a minor — and more lenient sentencing — for anyone under 18 at the time of the alleged crime.
“The institutionalisation of a child is a last resort, and the idea is to do it for a minimum amount of time for reform of the child,” said A.K. Asthana, an expert in handling juvenile cases.
While the juvenile is facing inquiry before the Juvenile Justice Board, four other accused, who have all pleaded not guilty, Akshay, Vinay, Pawan and Mukesh, are undergoing trial proceedings at a fast-track court here.
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