Arguments for and against treating juvenile rapists as adults

New Delhi: Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has reignited the rape law debate once again. She has said that juveniles who commit rape should be tried as adults. She also said that she is personally working to amend the law so that 16-year-olds are brought out of the purview of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Here are the arguments for and against treating juvenile rapists as adults in the eyes of law:

Argument for lowering the juvenile age

India's crime figure show a massive spurt in instances of rape by juveniles

Juvenile homes are seen as fertile breeding ground for hardened criminals

Beign a 'minor' has become an excuse to commit crimes and escape without serving punishment

Today a child matures much faster than he or she did a decade ago

Arguments against lowering the juvenile age

Reducing juvenile age will have repercussions on many other laws

The accused may not be mature enough to fully comprehend the gravity of a crime

No evidence that trying juveniles who commit serious crimes as asults deters crimes

Juvenile criminals should have a chance to reform, something that is facilitated in correctional home

India has signed UN Convention on Rights of Child which stipultes that capital punishment nor life imprisonment shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age