No plan to lower juvenile age from 18 to 16 years: govt

Amidst demands for lowering the juvenile age, the government today made it clear that it has no intention to lower the juvenile age from 18 to 16 years.

"There is no proposal to lower the juvenile age from 18 to 16 years under the Juvenile Justice Act," Minister of State for Home RPN Singh told Lok Sabha.

There have been demands for lowering the juvenile age after the December 16 gangrape of a girl in Delhi as one of the five accused was a juvenile.

There have been apprehension that the juvenile, who allegedly was the most brutal of the five accused, may go scot free due to his juvenile status.

The minister said the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has opposed lowering the age of juvenile from 18 to 16 years as well as the death penalty based on the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child which India has ratified.

Further, Section 16 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 prohibits death penalty to juvenile, Singh said.

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