From now on, no police station can register FIR against a juvenile accused of minor offences. But they are open to do so if the punishment for that crime is more than seven years or is committed along with adults.
The draft ammendment was proposed by Union women and child development minister, Maneka Gandhi on Wednesday for the recently enacted new proposed ‘Juvenile Justice Law’. The provision will be a part of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, passed by the parliament last year.
Apart from the cases in which FIR can be registered, while all the other cases will be handled by special juvenile police or the child welfare police. The juvenile offenders will be kept with adults, while the parents have to be informed just after the arrest.
“The Juvenile Justice Board and children’s court will see that the child offender is rehabilitated into society,” Gandhi said.
The state governments are also required to set up place of safety for the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders.
Maneka Gandhi, Union women and child development minister
For crimes such as rape and murder by anyone of more than 16 years of age, the child welfare police will have to present a statement of the witness and investigation report within a month.
Even though juvenile justice law has now reduces the age for juvenile convict to 16, still suspects from the age group of 16-18 cannot be awarded death sentence or life imprisonment.
Earlier the juvenile offender was tried and sent to a child correctional home for three years but from now the board will decide if it will transfer the case to a Norman court or keep it with itself.
Many new offences against children have been included in law, including child labor, sale of children and so on, aimed at minimizing the level of such offences.
