New Delhi: Amid growing protests over the release of the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya gangrape case and the Supreme Court's refusal to block the release of the youngest offender in the horrific incident, the Rajya Sabha yesterday decided to take up the Juvenile Justice Bill for discussions and possible passage on Tuesday.
"In the absence of any law we can't take away the right of a person. There has to be legislative sanction," the Supreme Court observed yesterday, citing the absence of any legal sanction to stop the release of the juvenile convict.
The Juvenile Justice bill seeks to amend the law to allow trial of those over 16 years of age and accused of heinous crimes, as adults.
"By releasing the juvenile convict, all the courts have given encouragement to this heinous crime and have given certificate to all the juveniles that there is no provision in the law which can punish them and therefore they can commit any crime such as rape etc," Nirbhaya's mother said.
Senior leader of the Congress party Ghulam Nabi Azad assured that the party would support the bill in the Upper House if brought on Tuesday.
Derek O' Brien of the Trinamool Congress also lent his support to the public sentiment and demanded that the bill be discussed at the earliest.
Both parties earlier wanted the bill to be sent to a parliamentary committee for further scrutiny.
The government, on its part, claimed that the bill was listed on three days in the ongoing winter session. "The government is ready to bring it today, but the Congress is not allowing the house to function," said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar.
"Tomorrow (Tuesday) as Congress agreed, I hope this Bill will come up for discussion. The passage of this Bill will be a tribute to Nirbhaya. We should pass this Bill so that in future such things do not re-occur and it acts as a deterrent. I am hopeful the Bill will be passed tomorrow (Tuesday)," Parliamentary Affairs minister Venkaiah Naidu said.
Meanwhile, Nirbhaya's parents met Congress leader Azad and sought the party's support to the Bill. Azad is learnt to have lent his support to the bill, if it was presented in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow (Tuesday).
Nirbhaya's parents have said that they will intensify their protests until the Bill is passed by the Rajya Sabha. The Bill has already been cleared by the Lok Sabha and is awaiting passage by the Upper House. Even if the Bill is passed, it will have no bearing on the juvenile convict in the Nirbhaya case as the law will not apply retrospectively.
