The parents of the December 16 gang-rape victim met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today as the Upper House is set to discuss the Juvenile Justice Bill at 2 pm. Badrinath Singh and Asha Devi will be in the visitors' gallery in parliament watching the bill being discussed. They are also set to meet EAM Sushma Swaraj.

The government has assured the parents that the JJB, which will allow juveniles between 16-18 years to be tried as adults in heinous crimes, will be passed today.


The parents of the victim met Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi at his residence today. After the meeting, Naqvi told reporters that government has spoken to every party and they have assured it that the bill will be passed today.

"Discussions will start today. The House is a place for discussions. If any one has any suggestion they can place during the debate but we feel there should not be any more delay as it has already been too late," he said.

The Minister said government had listed the bill 12 times during the monsoon session but because the House was not functioning it could not be taken up.

"Even in the winter session we have listed it for five times including today. We hope that it will be passed today so that a strong and effective law is in place to deal with heinous criminals, whatever age they may be of," he said.

Yesterday, the parents met Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, seeking the passage of the Bill. "We have been assured that the bill will be passed tomorrow (on Tuesday) and we believe that. Now, it is not the right time to talk about him (the juvenile convict of the gangrape case) as he is a free man and there is no law to hold him back. Our fight is not only for us but for all women and girls," the victim's father Badrinath Singh said.


Before meeting Azad, the parents had participated in a candlelight march at Jantar Mantar here along with hundreds of youth and activists. Amid protests, the juvenile convict in the case was sent to an NGO in Delhi on Sunday. The victim's mother Asha Devi said notwithstanding the release of the juvenile convict yesterday, she and her husband will continue their fight to ensure death penalty for the rest of the convicts who are currently lodged in Tihar jail.