NGO says juvenile convict deserves 2nd chance

Demanding the scrapping of the Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill, an non-governmental organisation working for the protection of men's rights in the country today said the juvenile convict in the 2012 Delhi gang-rape case deserves a second chance to reform himself.

Amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act has been cleared by the Lok Sabha and is awaiting clearance from the Upper House.

"If the common understanding is that a juvenile has matured enough to distinguish between a crime and a noble act, the voting rights and marriageable age should also be brought down to 16. If not, the Juvenile Justice Amendment Bill deserves to be scrapped prima facie," Amit Gupta, president of Hridaya, the NGO, told PTI.

Gupta said the NGO believes that the juvenile convicted in the Delhi rape case deserves a second chance to rehabilitate and reform himself.

He said that his organisation is ready to extend support for the rehabilitation of the juvenile conditionally released from captivity. "We want to extend educational support to  the convict for the next five years."

The Union government on Monday said that the amendment to Juvenile Justice Act, which will allow children between 16-18 years to be tried as adults in heinous crimes, would come up before the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Gupta said that they have filed an online petition to convince the government to refrain from making any changes in the juvenile law.

The NGO for the last few years has been fighting for the growing number of males who are becoming victims of the alleged misuse of Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code (dowry harassment and domestic violence) and anti-rape laws.