Child rights activists Tuesday demanded that while dealing with perpetrators of crime below 18 years of age the focus should be on reforming them instead of meting out punishment.
Following the Dec 16, 2012 Delhi gangrape which resulted in the death of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student, a demand had been raised by some groups that a juvenile's age limit be lowered from 18 to 16 years and juvenile delinquents should be tried as adults for severe offences.
Sameer Kalani, psychiatrist and coordinator of child and adolescent mental health services of Delhi Psychiatry Centre, said a juvenile should always get a chance to reform, something that is facilitated in the correctional homes along with psychological counselling.
Such reformative approach may not be possible in prisons where a delinquent would be forced to share space with hardened criminals, Kalani said.
Child rights activist Amod Kanth of Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre (JAC) society and Anant Asthana of Haq: Centre for Child Rights had sent multiple recommendations to the Justice Verma Committee, which reviewed the anti-rape laws, and Juvenile Justice Board opposing the demand for lowering a juvenile's age limit, a release said here.
Kanth said he favoured the setting-up of the requisite infrastructure and institutions for the implementation of policies for reforming juvenile delinquents.
