When the judgment in the Nirbhaya rape case came out, there was a huge uproar among the masses and the media over the sentence given to the minor involved in the case. The boy who was referred to as “nabalig" along the course of the trial was the one accused of committing the most gruesome acts in the events that took place on that fateful December night.

Children forced into the illegal drug trade

The drug trafficking industry is booming in India, especially in urban areas and is a major concern for law enforcement agencies. But what is even more worrying is the rising practice of using children as drug peddlers in cities and drug mules to traffic contraband across borders and within the country. These children are usually abducted and forced into the trade or in many cases they are first addicted to drugs and then forced to work in the trade. Such children need help and rehabilitation in the society more than persecution. Being tried as adults in such cases will certainly not help the cause.

While the protection of children in the country is already under scrutiny due to the new child labour bill, the legal changes in juvenile laws also possess the potential to endanger minors. The provisions of the bill will also be in conflict of the United Nations Convention for Child Rights.

Activists say that that these changes do not take social realities into account. Though, Maneka Gandhi did acknowledge the criminalization of consensual sex between teens as a “legitimate concern”, she dismissed most concerns as unnecessary hysteria created by assuming all policemen being against children.

Source: The Indian Express

Protection of child rights is an issue that demands a lot of attention in our country at the moment. We hope, for the best, that lawmakers consider all possibilities before taking a decision on the amendments.