Review rape laws for juveniles: L-G

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Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana shakes hands with chief minister Sheila Dikshit

Unhappy with the three-year sentence to the juvenile convicted in the brutal December 16 gangrape, lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung on Monday said there was a need to review laws for juveniles, including the age limit in cases of heinous crimes.
“I am not satisfied with it (the verdict). I’m personally not happy,” Mr Jung said, adding he did not believe that justice has been done in the case so far when asked to comment on the verdict of the Juvenile Justice Board.
In the first conviction in the December 16 gangrape case, the juvenile, who was six months short of 18 years when the crime was committed, was found guilty of murder and rape of the 23-year-old girl but got away with a maximum of three years imprisonment mandated under the juvenile law. The L-G said there was a need to review the age limit for juveniles involved in such heinous crimes.
“The age of juvenile should be lowered. These days, young people grow up much faster. People are saying the age limit should be brought down to 16. Even if age of juvenile is lowered to 14, there would be nothing wrong with that. There is a need to review it,” he added.
The verdict came under severe attack from the victim’s family members who said it was not acceptable to them.
On the night of December 16, last year, the victim was gangraped and brutally assaulted by six persons in a moving bus while her friend was beaten up.
The victim later succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29, last.
The four adult accused are being tried by a court in here. Another accused Ram Singh was found dead on March 11 in his cell in Tihar Jail and the trial against him has been abated. The Board sentenced the minor to three years in a probation home, the maximum punishment that can be awarded under the Juvenile Justice Act. The eight months already spent by the juvenile in custody during the inquiry will be considered as period already served and would be deducted from the three years sentence.