Supreme Court Bench of Justice B.S.Chauhan and Justice S.A.Bode sent notices to the Government of India with a request to make changes in the Juvenile Justice Act. Notices were also sent to the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
According to the sections 82 and 83 of the Act, a magistrate only has to ascertain the age whether the accused attained 18 or not. If not, the case has to be referred to the Juvenile Justice Board.
Parents of the December 16 gang rape victim urged the Supreme Court to deal with the juvenile accused also at par with the other accused in the case. Their Counsel Aman Hingorani argued that looking at the gravity of the offense; the magistrate must go by the mental maturity of the accused and his understanding the consequences of the criminal act but not the age.
The notice of the Supreme Court coincided with the Cabinet Note prepared that the youngsters above 16 years guilty of heinous crimes must be treated at par with other adult criminals.
-SriJa
