The trial of a 12-year-old boy in Madhya Pradesh for alleged rioting and destruction of property is a travesty of the system of justice and a gross violation of child rights. It is difficult to imagine that it happened under the auspices of the state government, whose prime responsibility it is to protect the law and the child. The boy was tried for his alleged role in the communal riots in Khargone in the state in April this year in which one person was killed and many others were injured. The trial was conducted by a tribunal and the local administration has slapped a penalty of Rs 3 lakh on him for the damage he was accused of having done during the riots. The government set up a damage recovery tribunal for the specific purpose of trying the accused in cases related to the riots, examine the claims for damages, and fix compensation. It was on the lines of similar tribunals in UP which are used to punish people, mainly Muslims, for their alleged violations of law but without going through the rigorous processes of the law.
So it is no surprise that the boy who was arraigned before the tribunal is a Muslim. The charge against him, based on the claims made by his Hindu neighbours, is that he vandalised their homes and destroyed property. There are laws and laid down rules to deal with offences committed by minors. Under the Juvenile Justice Act, a 12-year-old cannot be tried as an adult in any criminal proceeding in any court. He can only be tried by a juvenile justice board.
It has been pointed out that a new law under which the boy was tried is vague and arbitrary and denies the accused normal legal safeguards. The tribunal formed under it can set its own rules and procedures for the trial. There was no police investigation of the allegations, and no procedures were followed. The members of the tribunal who conducted the trial were handpicked by the government. The boy has been punished and ordered to pay the compensation claim though his guilt has not been determined under the established laws of the land. This amounts to setting up a parallel judicial system that is meant to work outside the existing system of laws grounded in the Constitution. It is not very different from the system of instant justice which is seen in some parts of the country and which works mainly against members of the minority community. How human is a society that tries and punishes a 12-year-old boy outside the legal system?