New Delhi: The juvenile accused in the heinous Delhi gang rape and murder case may get a much harsher punishment for the crime: life imprisonment or even more.
The Supreme Court has kept this option alive by entertaining a petition on Wednesday that seeks to try him as an adult and not as a juvenile because of heinous nature of his crime. The juvenile accused was the most brutal in the December 16 gang-rape incident.
Consequently, the Supreme Court directed the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to wait till the apex court gives a verdict on the petition filed by Janata Party leader Subramaniam Swamy. The JJB was slated to give verdict on the juvenile on August 5 and as per juvenile laws, the maximum that a convict can get – even in case of rape and murder – is three years in jail. But the SC bench, headed by Chief Justice S. Sathasivam, has changed these dynamics by entertaining Swamy’s petition and keeping the option open for a tougher punishment for the juvenile.
Interestingly, a petition of a similar nature about the juvenile was rejected by a bench headed by former Chief Justice Altamas Kabir just a few days before his retirement. Now, Sathasivam has entertained Swamy’s petition in what may be seen as yet another indication that he does not agree with his predecessor on some orders and judgements.
Chief Justice Sathasivam had earlier this month overturned then Chief Justice Kabir’s order related to real estate giant Jaypee Group. The former chief justice had stayed Himachal Pradesh High Court’s order which asked the Jaypee Group to pay a hefty penalty of Rs 100 crore to the government for misrepresenting facts about their cement plant in Himachal.
Overturning Kabir’s order, Sathasivam had said that “this stay should not have been granted”.The Supreme Court will hear Swamy’s petition on August 14 and all indications are that the apex court will take a serious view of the juvenile’s role in the crime – which was so brutal that it ultimately resulted in the death of the paramedic student.
An NGO for juveniles run by former top cop Amod Kanth, Prayas, had filed a petition on Wednesday opposing any change in the juvenile law. But the Supreme Court said that it will examine the maintainability of Prayas’ petition only on August 14.
On earlier occasions, too, Justice Sathasivam has made an exception for heinous crimes where a juvenile was involved. In his judgement on the 1993 Bombay Blast case, the apex court bench headed by Justice Sathasivam had rejected Mohammed Moin Faridullah’s petition that he was a juvenile at the time of crime. “By any stretch of imagination, he does not qualify as a child in need of care and protection,” said the bench while upholding life imprisonment given to Faridullah.
By entertaining Swamy’s petition, which pleads that the definition of juvenile needs to be relooked for a serious crime like this, the Supreme Court has also reignited the debate that the legal age limit of juveniles should be reduced from 18 years to 16 years.
Such type of activities are often taking place in Delhi and other parts of India. But the officials are unaware of it. They are not taking the strict decisions on such crimes. These are recently the Breaking News from Delhi which have frighten many girls across the country.
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