New Delhi: The Supreme Court today dismissed pleas seeking fresh interpretation of the term ‘juvenile' in the statute and leaving it to the criminal court, instead of Juvenile Justice Board, to determine the juvenility of an offender in heinous crimes.
A bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam, justices Ranjan Gogoi and Shiv Kirti Singh rejected the two petitions, filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy and parents of the December 16 gangrape victim, challenging the constitutional validity of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000.
The bench dismissed the plea of victim's parents for sending the juvenile convict in the brutal gangrape and murder case to face trial in regular court, saying there was no question of sending him to face regular trial.
It said that there is no unconstitutionality for fixing upto 18 years of age for the offenders to be tried under the Juvenile Justice Act.
During the proceedings earlier, the two petitions were opposed by the Centre.
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