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Feel let down, will continue fight for justice, Nirbhaya's parents say

NEW DELHI: The juvenile offender in the Nirbhaya rape and murder case is set to walk out of the special home in the next few days, after the Delhi high court on Friday refused to stay his release citing lack of any legal provision to intervene.A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath instead directed the Juvenile Justice Board and Delhi government to chart out a plan for his “social mainstreaming” once the JJB interacts and consults him on his post-release rehabilitation. He is likely to come out of the home on Sunday when he finishes the three-year term.“Jurm jeet gaya, hum haar gaye (Crime has won, we have lost),” said Nirbhaya’s distraught mother, immediately after the judgment.Late evening, top Delhi government officials said as soon as the JJB passes its order on Saturday, its legal team will study it and plan a course of action, ranging from rehabilitation to exploring other options such as sending him to another reform facility. The government said its plan filed in court is only one of the options as per the JJ Act. The final decision lies with the JJB.The 20-year-old completes three years of his sentence by the JJB on December 20. Referring to provisions of the JJ Act, the court said, “The maximum stay that can be directed in the special home under section 15(1) of the Juvenile Justice Act is three years and that the convict would be completing that period by December 20, 2015.”“There cannot be any direction to continue his stay in the special home beyond December 20. Hence, we decline to issue any direction as prayed by the petitioner,” the bench observed.It added, however, that post-release follow up of the juvenile must be undertaken.Given that there was an adverse IB report against him and absence of clarity on his mental condition, the Centre had supported petitioner Subramanian Swamy’s demand to delay the juvenile’s release. It had argued that several mandatory aspects have been neglected by the Delhi government and JJB in its post-release rehabilitation plan, which needed to be considered before setting him free.On Monday, the Delhi government’s department of women and child development (WCD) gave a rehabilitation plan on providing him with a one-time financial grant of Rs 10,000 and a sewing machine so that he can rent a tailoring shop. As per the WCD scheme, custody of the juvenile can be handed to the parents but counsellors should accompany the family to their village or any other destination.In his petition, Swamy had claimed there was a lacuna in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000, as amended in 2011. Swamy maintained that “no provision has been made in the Act, to provide for vicious unregenerate convicted juveniles who despite having undergone the reformation process for the maximum penalty of three years custody in a special home, continue to be a menace to society.”The Supreme Court had earlier rejected Swamy's petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000.But HC on Friday converted his plea into a PIL and decided to examine how juveniles convicted for heinous crimes can be best tackled. Six persons, including the juvenile, brutally assaulted and raped a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in south Delhi on December 16, 2012. The victim succumbed to her injuries in a Singapore hospital on December 29, 2012.Convicts Mukesh, Vinay, Pawan and Akshay were awarded death penalty by the trial court, later upheld confirmed by the Delhi high court. Their appeals are pending before the Supreme Court. Accused Ram Singh had allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail on March 11, 2013. Proceedings against him were dropped following his death.