Amidst the series of protests and two-day after release of Nirbhaya’s juvenile rapist, Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Juvenile Justice Bill without even a single amendment that allows the trial of 16-year-olds as an adult in heinous crimes.
After getting the final nod from the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, it will be included as law and will be implemented in cases in future.
The bill spent almost two years before getting the ayes from Rajya Sabha. Here is all you need to know about the Juvenile Justice Bill which is also known as the Nirbhaya Bill in public:
Introduced in Lok Sabha
The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 12, 2014 by Maneka Gandhi, Minister of Women and Child Welfare of Narendra Modi-led NDA government. Soon after it, the bill was referred to the standing committee in September, 2014.
The final report was submitted this year on February 25.
Definition of Juvenile
According to the bill, the juvenile between 16-18 will be permitted to be tried as adults in heinous crimes. Any 16-18 year-old, who commits any serious crime, will be tried as an adult only if he is arrested at or after the age of 21 years.
Heinous/Serious crimes
Juvenile justice board and court will examine the case and decide its category on the basis of nature of the offense. The court will also examine the background, family, and rest of the circumstances to categorise the crime.
Punishment
Crimes categorised as the heinous or serious would lead to the jail of up to seven years.
No death penalty or life imprisonment
According to the bill, no juvenile will be given life imprisonment without possibility of capital punishment or release.
What about Nirbhaya case?
As the juvenile of Nirbaya case has already completed his punishment, the bill will not be followed on him for raping and brutally killing the 23-year-old paramedical students inside a moving on Delhi roads. The juvenile was 17-year-old when he was arrested for the crime.