Plan to raise detention period for juvenile offenders

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is now looking at the possibility of increasing the maximum detention period for juvenile delinquents. The Supreme Court had on Monday asked the government to justify the 18-year cut-off for individuals to be treated as criminals.

The ministry had in the past unanimously decided to revising the age bar is not an option given the slew of international protocols on this that India has ratified. "However, given the overwhelming public sentiment in the matter, we are looking at whether there is a possibility to increase the detention period of juveniles accused of heinous crimes," said a senior official.

Officials however said even if the changes are incorporated in the Juvenile Justice Act, it cannot come into effect retrospectively and will therefore have no outcome on the Delhi gangrape case. The 17-year-old accused in the case may get only a three-year detention.

Ramdev's guru: CBI begins probe into missing case

The CBI has finally decided to take up the five-year-old missing case of Swami Shankar Dev, the founder of Divya Yog Mandir Trust which yoga guru-turned-activist Baba Ramdev now runs. The Uttarakhand government had recommended a CBI probe into the case on October 12.

Sources in the CBI confirmed that it had collected required documents from the Kankhal police station of Uttarakhand's Haridwar district. "The CBI has finally taken up the case. Proper notification in this regard has been issued...," the sources said.

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