Juvenile Justice Bill passed but Nirbhaya yet to get justice; will continue our fight: Mother

Nirbhaya's parents

New Delhi: A day after Parliament passed the Juvenile Justice Bill, Nirbhaya's mother reiterated that he daughter has still not got justice.

“The bill has been approved but we are still there where we were prior to its clearance. Our daughter has still not got justice. Our battle is still not over,” Nirbhaya's mother Asha Devi said.

“We'll continue to fight for justice. But I thank everyone for their support in the passage of this Bill,” she told ANI.

On Tuesday, the Rajya Sabha cleared the Juvenile Justice Bill with members cutting across party lines supporting it.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 was passed by the Lok Sabha in May.

Nirbhaya's parents Asha Devi and Badrinath were present in the visitors' gallery as the Rajya Sabha took up the bill for discussion.

Nirbhaya, a 23-year-old paramedical student, was gang-raped by five men and a juvenile on a moving bus in Delhi on December 16, 2012.

The juvenile was released from an observation home on Sunday after completing his three-year term. He will, however, continue to stay under the care of an NGO.

The Bill passed yesterday provides for the trial of those between 16 and 18 years of age as adults for heinous offences. Also, anyone between the age of 16 and 18 who commits a less serious offence may be tried as an adult if he is apprehended after he attains the age of 21.

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said borstals -- a custodial institution for young offenders -- would be set up under the proposed law to house juveniles accused of heinous crimes.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the law will not be applicable in retrospective, which means it will not be applicable on the rape convict who has already been freed.

Nirbhaya's mother had yesterday rued that had the Bill been passed earlier, the juvenile convict would not have walked free.

The juvenile, who was under 18 years of age when he was held with five other men for the brutal rape and murder, was tried under the Juvenile Justice Act. He was put in a remand home for three years, the maximum permissible under the legal provisions.

He was released from the correctional home on Sunday after completing his sentence, amid protests by the parents of the victim and others in the national capital.

(With IANS inputs)