Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Barkha Singh Shukla on Monday welcomed Women and Child Welfare Minister Maneka Gandhi's statement that juveniles who commit rape should be tried as adults and added that there should be no difference between adults and juveniles in such cases.
"We welcome this message. How can we leave rapists without taking any strict action, by considering them as juveniles? There should be no difference between adults and juveniles in such cases," said Shukla.
National Commission for Women chief Mamta Sharma said that nowadays children mature at twelve years of age.
"I feel that the way children have exposed due to internet, they become matured after twelve years of age, with expert psychology they should try to find out why children do rape. Even in the Damini case, the cruelest person is going to be set free just because he is a juvenile. This is wrong," said Sharma.
Earlier today, Gandhi 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.