Juvenile Justice: SC issues notice to Centre on plea of Damini's father

The petition referred to the trial court verdict by which four adult accused were convicted and sentenced to death and sought similar trial for the then juvenile offender, who has now turned major.

“One of the accused (Respondent No 2--juvenile), however, has not been tried at all for the offences committed under the Indian Penal Code by the criminal court on the premise that he is a juvenile in conflict with law aged 17 years,” the petition, in which the Centre and the accused have been named as respondents, said.

It also stated that “the blanket protection to juvenile offenders from being tried by the criminal courts for offences under the IPC, is an instance of legislative adjudication, and hence unconstitutional”.

On the night of December 16, 2012, the girl was gangraped and brutally assaulted by six persons in a moving bus here. 

One among them was the juvenile, so he was tried by the Board.  The victim succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29 ,last year.

The four adult accused—Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Mukesh—were tried by a fast-track court which awarded them death penalty. Now the sentence is before the Delhi High Court for confirmation.

Another accused Ram Singh was found dead on March 11 in his cell in Tihar Jail and the trial against him had been abated.