Amnesty flays changes in juvenile justice laws

New Delhi, Dec 23: Changes to India’s juvenile justice laws that allow children to be treated as adults in cases of serious crimes are a step backwards for children’s rights, Amnesty Intertiol India said on Wednesday. “Children do sometimes commit crimes as violent as those committed by adults,” said Aakar Patel, executive director of the Amnesty Intertiol India.   “But their punishment should reflect the fact that their culpability is different because of their age, and consider their special capacity for reform,” he said in a statement. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Under the bill, in cases where children aged between 16 and 18 are accused of serious crimes including murder and rape, authorities will conduct an assessment of factors including the child’s “mental and physical capacity to commit such offence, ability to understand the consequences of the offence, and the circumstance in which he committed the offence”. Based on the assessment, children can be prosecuted in an ordiry crimil court, and punished as adults if convicted.  (IANS)