KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has observed that it is high time the legislature considered amending laws dealing with ‘juveniles and children in conflict with the law’ to lower the age threshold from 18 to 16 years, as the state recently witnessed a series of crimes and fatal road accidents involving minors.
Justice A Badharudeen made the observation, noting the present trend indicating that children attain sufficient maturity by the age of 16. The court also expressed concern over minors getting easy access to liquor despite statutory restrictions.
The court made the observation while considering a petition by Vinod Vikraman Pillai of Kollam, seeking strict enforcement of Sections 15A and 15B of the Kerala Abkari Act, which prohibit serving liquor to persons below 23 years. The petition cited the October 11 accident at Nedumbassery, in which a 19-year-old, allegedly under the influence of liquor, rammed his luxury car into a scooter, killing three youths.
Advocate U Jayakrishnan, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the student had allegedly been served liquor at multiple bars in Ernakulam without age verification, exposing serious lapses in excise enforcement. He sought an independent vigilance probe and mandatory digital age-verification systems at licensed bars and criminal action against violators.
Observing that the matter required a detailed hearing, the court directed the excise commissioner to file a statement detailing the instructions issued to enforce the statutory provisions and suggest measures to prevent such incidents.
The court observation assumes significance in the wake of several recent incidents involving juveniles, including on November 2, when a 17-year-old boy was identified as the prime accused in the murder of a Plus-I student at Pangappara in Thiruvananthapuram.
In another incident, a luxury car allegedly driven by the 17-year-old son of an judge fatally knocked down a 55-year-old man on Container Road in Kochi. In August, a 13-year-old girl was booked for allegedly conspiring with three teenage boys to murder her 67-year-old grandfather at Karuvatta in Alappuzha.
The court expressed concern over minors getting easy access to liquor despite statutory restrictions