Mumbai, May 10: The trial of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the
lone terrorist caught in the November 26 attacks, has thrown
up the possibility of minors being used for terror attacks and
time has come for the country to strengthen the Juvenile
Justice Act to deal with such impending menace, special public
prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam has said.
After Kasab unsuccessfully attempted to plead that he was
a juvenile, a possibility arises that terror groups might use
minors to carry out suicide attacks, he warned.
"Juvenile offenders are likely to infiltrate into the
country... time has come to change the archaic Juvenile
Justice Act to ensure that terror suspect below the age of 18
should be tried under the stringent laws, Nikam said in an
interactive session with journalists here.
Recently, the Act was amended to increase the age of
juvenile from 16 to 18 years. Even that would not suffice for
a juvenile terrorist as there was no provision under the Act
to award rigorous imprisonment like death penalty, Nikam said.
A juvenile convict cannot be tried in a regular court but
only before a juvenile authority which does not award
punishment even if guilt is proved, said Nikam.
Nikam said similar to Kasab, who had attempted to prove
himself to be a juvenile to escape punishment taking advantage
of the lenient Act, "many young people are being brainwashed
and used by terror groups and our existing laws are
inadequate," Nikam said.
Bureau Report
