Indian Express

Only those under 16 yrs must be treated as juveniles: UP govt

Express news service Posted online: Fri Jan 04 2013, 02:23 hrs
Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh government is set to propose that only those under the age of 16 should be treated as juveniles in rape cases.

Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani and Director General of Police A C Sharma are likely to put forward this proposal at a meeting of chief secretaries and DGPs called by the union home ministry in New Delhi on Friday to discuss measures to check crimes against women.

Sources said the government had noticed that many of the accused in rape cases got away lightly because they were in the 16-18 years age group. In the Delhi gangrape case too, one of the accused has claimed that he is below 18 years of age.

The state will also demand an amendment to Section 326A of IPC to make acid attacks a non-bailable offence and increase the punishment. It will seek amendments to all sections related to crimes against women to increase the length of prison terms.