DCW chief Swati Maliwal sought intervention of the Chief Justice of India and the President against the release of convicted juvenile
DCW chief Swati Maliwal sought intervention of the Chief Justice of India and the President against the release of convicted juvenile
After the Delhi high court refused to stay the release of the juvenile convict in the Delhi gangrape case, the family of the December 16 rape victim said the legal system had failed to deliver justice. The juvenile convict, who is now an adult, will be released on Sunday and the victim’s family said it still hopes that politicians and the legal fraternity would intervene and prevent his release.
There have been massive protests and parents of the Delhi braveheart, Jyoti Singh, demanded that the juvenile, who is 21 years old now, should get a stricter punishment and not be let off.
“Crime has won and we have lost (Jurm jeet gaya, hum haar gaye),” was the immediate reaction of the family. “Despite all our efforts for three years, our government and our courts have released a criminal. The assurance we were given that we would get justice, that has not been delivered. We are very disappointed.”
“We haven’t seen him, nor met him, but despite all our efforts, the criminal will walk free,” Asha Devi, mother of the victim, said, adding that her family’s three-year battle for justice has gone in vain.
Asha Devi broke down and said that this would be the right time for politicians to deliver their promise. “We have failed to get justice for our daughter Jyoti, but many more women have been assaulted after that in the country. Politicians promised that women’s security is their top priority. If not for our daughter, at least for the safety of the other women, the politicians should intervene.”
DCW chief Swati Maliwal on Friday described the high court’s refusal to stay the release of the convict a “dark day” in the history of the country and sought intervention of the Chief Justice of India and the President against his release.
Union minister Maneka Gandhi blamed the Rajya Sabha for not passing the bill to amend the Juvenile Justice Act which seeks stringent punishment for children aged between 16-18 years involved in heinous crimes. “I would blame Rajya Sabha for not passing the law. Had they passed the bill, he (accused juvenile) would not have gone scot-free,” Ms Gandhi said outside Parliament. She said the existing law is insufficient to punish the juvenile
Ms Maliwal wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee, Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur and the principal magistrate of Juvenile Justice Board Murari Prasad Singh. “In light of the particularly heinous nature of the crime executed by this boy, the DCW requests you to intervene in the matter and ensure that the boy be kept in the observation home at least until his mental frame of mind and reformation is properly ascertained,” she wrote.
“A committee may be set up consisting of the DCW and the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) with directions to create a team of the best counsellors from across the country to visit the boy at the home and assess the current mental state of the boy and the quality of reformation that he has undergone,” she added.
Activists also believe that a lot needs to be done in order to make cities safer for women. Ranjana Kumari, activist and director, Centre for Social Research, said nothing much has changed. “The nation is yet to see the ‘hanging’ of the convicts and to believe the fact that the ones contributing to violence against women will be severely punished and the situation ‘changed vs not changed’ will continue till strong examples are set that the accused will not be spared,” she added.
Another activist, Kavita Krishnan, said, “The juvenile accused is likely to walk free — that speaks volumes about the ‘change’ in the past three years. There is neither political will nor conviction of the accused.”
“Law has been made, funds have been allocated, fast-track court was to hear the case, but where is the implementation and where are the results that reflect a change in the society,” she added.
