Alappuzha murder allegedly involving four minors raises troubling questions

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The Act had lowered the minimum age of children in conflict with law in heinous crimes like rape and murder to 16 years following the Delhi Nirbhaya case.

The legal prospects of invoking the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, popularly referred to as the Nirbhaya Amendment Act, against the three teenage accused in the Alappuzha murder case are being debated in the State, considering the age of the accused.

An elderly man was reportedly murdered by four teenagers, one of whom was allegedly his relative. While three accused were in the 16–18-year age group, one was 13 years old.

The police have sought legal opinion on whether the three can be put on trial in a regular court for the alleged commission of a heinous offence as prescribed in the Act. The Act had lowered the minimum age of children in conflict with law (CCL) in heinous crimes like rape and murder to 16 years following the Delhi Nirbhaya case, in which a young woman was raped and murdered in a moving bus.

“We have a unique case at hand as all the accused, who were reportedly involved in the planning, organising, and the execution of the crime, are minors. This would probably be the first murder case in the State where all the accused are minors. Mostly, the presence of some adults would be seen in cases involving children,” according to T.K. Vishnu Pradeep, District Police Chief.

The question of whether the Act has to be invoked against the three will be decided by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB). Law presumes that a child below seven years cannot commit a crime. Only those from seven to 18 years are considered CCL. Here, there is a child of 13 years, on whom the law is silent on punishment, pointed out a senior district judge.

However, the JJB will decide on the social rehabilitation and integration of the 13-year-old child. The child may be sent back to its parents or admitted to a care home after due process, said a judge.

The JJB will carry out a preliminary assessment of the mental and physical capacity of all the CCL with the help of psychologists or psychosocial workers. “The ability of the CCL to understand the consequences of the offence and the circumstances in which it was committed will be evaluated,” he pointed out.

The CCL’s ability to make social decisions and judgments, neglect or poor supervision by family, instances of abuse, trauma, and substance abuse will also be looked into. The child will be presumed innocent during the process. If found eligible to be tried as an adult, the case shall be transferred to the jurisdictional children’s court, where an evaluation will also be held. Reformative services and psychiatric support will also be offered for the CCLs, noted another judge.

The delay in completing the assessment process on time, felt another judge, was defeating the purpose of the Act. Often, assessments take a few years after the alleged act to complete, making the exercise a farce, he noted.

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