The Juvenile Justice Amendment bill, which seeks to try as adults the juveniles in the age group of 16 to 18 years accused of heinous crimes, will be introduced in the Lok Sabha this week, official sources said on Sunday.
The bill, cleared by the union cabinet on April 22, also proposes to streamline adoption procedures for orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children and establishes a statutory status for the Child Adoption Resources Authority (CARA).
It also proposes several rehabilitation and social integration measures for institutional and non-institutional children and provide for sponsorship and foster care as completely new measures.
The ministry of women and child development introduced the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014, in the Lok Sabha in August 2014.
The bill was referred to the standing committee which recommended keeping the juvenile age at 18 years. However, the government did not agree.
