Gravity of crime should be prioritised over juvenile's age: Psychologist

20 January, 2013

Delhi Police, which was under immense pressure due to the recent gang rape of a 23-year-old medical student, has demanded that juvenile act be amended and the age limit be brought down to 16 from the current 18 years.

Notably, the debate over the juvenile age has come to the fore in the wake of alleged involvement of a 17-year-old minor in the rape of the medical student. According to police, the minor has done the most damage to the girl while injuring her in a very gruesome manner. Moreover, the 17-year-old, according to the police, had lured the duo into the bus.

After these reports came out in public, the voices, demanding that the minor should be tried like other five accused in the case but not as a minor, have only grown louder. The public is concerned that the most dangerous culprit will be let off with just a punishment of mere three years, if convicted in the case.

Delhi-based psychologist Dr. Shivi Jaggi too feels that with changing times, the law needs to be changed and more than the age the nature of the crime needs to be looked at with priority.

“I think the gravity of the crime should be taken into account first in the cases where juveniles are involved, more than focusing on their age. One may be of 17 years and 364 days on the day of committing the crime and next day he will be turning 18. So, there should be amendments made into the juvenile act and authorities should see how serious the crime is,” Dr. Shivi Jaggi told this citizen journalist .

The parents of the deceased girl have also demanded that the minor should not be treated as juvenile and he should be given the strictest possible punishment. The Supreme Court also has admitted a PIL, which seeks that the accused should be tried as an adult keeping in view the nature of his crime.

Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar during the annual press conference has also said that he has conveyed his position on the issue to the government.