Jhabua (MP), March 1: In what could be perhaps the first conviction under the amended Juvenile Justice Act, two minors were awarded life imprisonment for stabbing to death their schoolmate last December over a petty monetary issue.
The sentence was awarded by Sessions Judge A A Khan on February 28 under the amended Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. According to the new provisions, minors are to be treated as adults in case of heinous crime.
The convicts aged 16 and 17 had stabbed with a knife their 16-year-old schoolmate, a student of class IX on December 5, 2016 over a petty monetary dispute, he said.
Though they were habituated to drug nitrate, their blood samples on that day revealed that they were not under its influence and had committed the crime despite being fully aware of the subsequent consequences of their act. The court gave its verdict in less than three months.
Jain said the court has treated them as “adult” under the amended Act.
“The Juvenile Act was amended after the Delhi gangrape incident. According to the amended provisions, if the heinous crime is committed by a child over 16 years of age and where the sentence is more than seven years, then the accused is to be treated as adults,” he informed.
The court awarded rigorous sentence to them under section 302 (murder) of the IPC and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each.
Besides under Section 25 of the Arms Act, the court awarded three years sentence and Rs 5,000 fine.
Expressing satisfaction over the court judgement, the victim’s father, Nana Palia said, “I had not expected justice so fast. I am satisfied with it.”
