Manoj Tiwari (Credit: OpenAI)
New Delhi: Teenagers between fifteen and seventeen are no longer involved in just youthful mischief — they are now appearing at the centre of killings, shootings, and gang rivalries. The Juvenile Justice law still treats them as “children,” sending them to reform homes, even when the brutality mirrors that of adults. This widening gap between the crime’s severity and the punishment’s softness is exactly what Manoj Tiwari wants Parliament to confront-a demand to realign accountability with the scale of violence.
Under present act anyone up to seventeen counts as juvenile legally and heinous crimes still go through separate process and Tiwari wants lower line fixed at fourteen instead and for grave cases law to treat them closer to adults and he believes accountability must match brutality level and proposal comes as private member move carefully.
He points to Gurugram school shooting incident recently and seventeen-year-old allegedly used father’s licensed pistol there and classmate was shot inside educational space shockingly and Delhi gang knife attack in Patel Nagar also surfaced and several minors were booked for attempt to murder and such stories fuel fear about unchecked teen violence.
Tiwari says some boys know law will shield them now and commit crimes believing they will return soon and he mentions one teen accused of three killings earlier and still going back to reform home again and questions whether system learns any lesson truly and insists deterrence needs sharper legal teeth immediately.
Debate pits child rights framework against victim justice strongly and critics worry harsh rules may ignore backgrounds and supporters argue victims cannot suffer because age is under eighteen and courts must weigh mental maturity case by case and change could reshape policing schooling and parenting together and society must choose between pure leniency and balanced accountability.
Private bills rarely become law quickly nationwide and yet they shape public debate powerfully and government can later adopt or modify ideas and committee scrutiny may examine data trends deeply and rights groups will present concerns in detail and final path will show how India views teenage crime and reform versus punishment in coming years.
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