Writ challenging JJ Amendment Act filed in Supreme Court [Read synopsis]

A Pune-based entrepreneur has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court of India challenging the vires of the Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act recently passed in Parliament..Tehseen Poonawalla, who filed the petition through Supreme Court advocates Fuzail Ahmed Ayyubi and Anas Tanwir Siddiqi, has sought directions from the apex court to prevent the Centre from implementing the enactment..In December of last year, the Rajya Sabha had signed off on the Act without any amendment, but amidst great controversy. The most debated provision is Section 7, which allows persons aged 16-18 years to be tried as adults for heinous offences..And now the Act has been challenged on the grounds of being unreasonable, arbitrary and hence, in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution. The synopsis of the petition states:.“…the impugned Act seeks to punish the child in conflict with law for the failure of the society at large in providing the child with adequate care and protection.”.Terming the passing of the legislation as a “knee-jerk reaction”, the petition states that though there is a perception that crimes committed by juveniles are on the rise, National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics show otherwise..“The NCRB data relied upon by the Parliament shows a minute increase of 0.9% in juvenile crime since 2003. It is pertinent to mention herein that the abovementioned data merely reflects the number of FIR registered and not the conviction.”.The petition also states that the Act is violative of Article 15(3) of the Constitution and in contravention of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)..Finally, the petition delves into neurological science and quotes various studies which show that the frontal lobe (the part responsible for decision-making) is not fully developed in teenagers..“Part of the brain that is helping organisation, planning and strategising is not done being built yet… It’s sort of unfair to expect [adolescents] to have adult levels of organisational skills or decision-making before their brain is finished being built.”.These are concerns which have been raised before by experts, and even a Parliamentary Standing Committee. It remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court will choose to step into the Legislature’s domain, and deem the Act unconstitutional..According to Ayyubi, the matter is likely to be listed sometime next week..Read the synopsis of the petition: