The Hindu : New Delhi News : Save the road

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Monday, Feb 04, 2008
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New Delhi

Save the road

The parking lot at Big Bazaar located in Subhash Place opposite Wazirpur Depot has usurped a public thoroughfare in order to fleece those who wish to drive through it to reach Ring Road.

The thoroughfare runs through the road cut at the turn on the right facing Dilli Haat and joining the Inner Ring Road while the parking space for Big Bazaar is earmarked separately and duly covered by raised levels on either side of the road. The parking contractor has usurped the entry point of the road which is altogether separate from the specified parking lot.

By all indications the authorities responsible for maintenance of the public road seem to be in connivance with the parking contractor. This needs to be rectified urgently in public interest.

Prof. N. S. Kapur,

K(U)-6, Pitampura Delhi – 110 088.

Juvenile justice

The recent cases of killing among school-going teenagers have forced a thought over the Juvenile Justice Act. Two such shocking incidents have taken place within a month. On December 11, two boys of 14 years studying in VIII Standard shot dead one of their classmates on the school premises in Gurgaon, and on January 3 the same game of “rage killing” was played out in Satna, Madhya Pradesh.

Both these acts were pre-planned and the criminals were aware of the consequence of their deadly act.

But nothing much will happen to them and therefore the number of such incidents will keep rising.

In the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, the age for treating the offender as a juvenile was 16 for boys and 18 for girls but in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, the age for boys has been raised to 18. Now no child up to the age of 18 can be sent to prison, bail cannot be refused.

They suffer no disqualification even when the offence is proved, no matter what the gravity of the offence.

This over-protection and delay of criminal responsibility fails to adequately address public interest and deter violent crimes by juveniles. Therefore it is imperative to re-define juveniles and amend the Juvenile Justice Act. Since an average adolescent these days is capable of making competent decisions and understanding the consequences of his acts, provision should be made to treat any child above the age of 14 competent to have known his responsibility. When the case involves any child above 14 years of age then the judges of juvenile courts should be given the discretion of waiver hearing and the case should be transferred to a general court on the basis of these factors: (1) The seriousness of the offence alleged; (2) whether the offence alleged involved viciousness, force and violence; (3) whether the offence alleged is part of a repetitive pattern of offences; 4) The record and history of the child; (5) the sophistication and maturity of the child as determined by consideration of his home and environmental situation, emotional condition and pattern of living; and (6) whether the offence was committed on the spur of the moment or was it pre-planned.

The waiver hearing should be made mandatory if any child above the age of 14 is charged with one of the seven deadly sins (first degree murder, second degree murder, assault, rape, sodomy, robbery and distribution of drugs), or when a child has committed two prior felonies.

Vidushi Gupta,

II Semester, National Law University, National Highway-65, Nagour Road Mandore, Jodhpur - 342 304.

Waiting for dues

I am a retired senior citizen with no source of income. My children also are not living with me to share mine and my husband’s expenses. My husband retired from Gedore Tools which was a sick entity and therefore he was deprived of all the benefits due on retirement. We have no other option but to live on the small amount of money I got from my employer on my retirement.

Out of that amount, I had deposited Rs.50,000 in Escorts Finance Limited (A/c No. XN15/0011694 and Receipt No. XN15/FD03015878 dated 17.11.2003) for a period of three years which expired on 16.11.2006. I was promised a quarterly payment of interest and refund of the principal amount on maturity. But the company did not pay me the last two interest instalments nor the principal amount of Rs.50,000.

I enquired from various sources and also from the agent through whom I had deposited the money. They initially said that the amount was being converted to shares, but later on there was no answer to all my queries nor any intimation.

I request the company to give me my due amount so that I can maintain my daily expenses and pay up my medical bills.

Mary John,

House No. 844, Sector 23, Faridabad, Haryana – 121 005.

Gender biases

I am a 19-year-old student of an engineering college affiliated to the Uttar Pradesh Technical University. I have been a good student throughout and had wished to join a college that would have a fair entrance and quality teaching. I had qualified for Manipal University, but in spite of belonging to an educated family where equal opportunities are given to boys and girls, I was forced to join this university because my family did not want me to travel to Manipal, 48 hours from here. Though this college is well known in North India, it isn’t fair.

At the end of the day I have had to compromise only because I am a girl. And this is not just true of me; there are many others who share a similar story.

Whose dreams are cut short not because they are less capable but because they have been born girls. Can no one ever understand our plight?

Namrata Pandey,

B.Tech, First Year, J.S.S Academy of Technical Education, Sector 62, Noida – 201 301.

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