Zee Media Bureau/Tarun Khanna
New Delhi: Giving voice to his mother and Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi`s statement on amendment of Juvenile Justice Act, the BJP`s Sultanpur MP Varun Gandhi on Monday said that there should be no difference between adults and juveniles in rape cases.
Varun wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter wrote that if the culprit is capable of committing rape then he is also capable of going through a proper trial like an adult.
Regarding the J.J. Act: if you are old enough to rape, then you are old enough to be tried as an adult in a court of law.
— Varun Gandhi (@varungandhi80) July 14, 2014
Maneka, on Saturday, had demanded that juveniles who are found guilty of committing rape should be tried as adults.
She also said that she is personally working to amend the law so that 16-year-olds are brought out of the purview of the Juvenile Justice Act.
“As per the police records, in 50 percent of rape cases 16-year-olds are the main culprits. I`m working on to amend the Act,” said the minister.
Meanwhile, Delhi Commission for Women chief Barkha Singh Shukla has also welcomed Maneka`s statement and demanded to amend the law as soon as possible.
On the other hand, National Commission for Women chief Mamata Sharma said that nowadays children become mature at the age of twelve.
Former minister Krishna Tirath during the previous UPA regime had proposed that juveniles above 16 years guilty of heinous crimes be treated on par with adult offenders.
