India today passed a bill allowing harsher punishments for juveniles aged 16-18 after an outcry over the release of a young rapist who served three years in a detention facility for his part in a notorious gang-rape in 2012.
The release two days ago of the youngest convict in the case of the fatal gang-rape of medical student Jyoti Singh in December 2012 triggered widespread calls for amendments to the existing law.
The changes to the law will allow minors aged 16-18 to be sentenced to at least seven years in young offenders' institutions if convicted of "heinous crimes" including rape and murder.
However, they will not face the death penalty.
"#JuvenileJusticeBill attempts to bring balance between rights of the child and need to deter heinous juvenile crimes, esp. against women," Maneka Gandhi, the federal minister for women and child development, posted on Twitter soon after the bill was cleared.
The Delhi High Court said it was unable to halt the release of the juvenile attacker, who was 17 at the time of the rape, because he had served the maximum three years in a juvenile detention facility.
"This is a setback for the entire country. The court said that as per current legislation, he cannot be remanded for more than three years," Anil Soni, one of the lawyers in the case, told reporters.
The victim's mother, who last week publicly named her daughter for the first time, said the parents had failed to secure justice.
"We did not get the justice we were assured of. Finally, a criminal will walk free," Asha Singh said.
Women's rights groups opposed the juvenile's release, mainly on the grounds that it was unclear whether or not he had been rehabilitated.
