A juvenile in the age group of 16-18 will be tried as adults for heinous crimes after the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal to effect.
More than two years after a young girl in Delhi was brutalised and murderously assaulted by six people including a minor in a moving bus on December 16, 2012, the Cabinet finally approved a tougher Juvenile Justice law so that blanket protection is not available to juveniles who commit heinous crimes lIke rape and murder.
The girl popularly known as Nirbhaya lost her battle with life and a few months after her juvenile assaulter walked away with just three years in an observation home.
The government's decision comes after data suggested a spurt in crimes by juveniles. Crimes committed by juveniles increased by 13 percent between 2012 and 2013 going from 27,936 in 2012 to 31,725 cases in 2013.
The highest increase was seen in crimes against women. There was 132.3 percent rise cases of assault on women, 70.5 percent increase in cases of insult to the modesty of women and 60 percent increase in cases of rape.
Madhya Pradesh tops the list of rapes committed by juveniles, followed by Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Delhi saw 137 such cases.
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