Newsroom24x7 Desk

New Delhi: A Bill to lower the age of juveniles accused in rape cases and other heinous offences was today passed by Parliament with the Rajya Sabha approving it by a voice vote after a after a 5-hour marathon debate.

The Bill seeks to lower the age of juvenile accused from 18 to 16 years to ensure that a juvenile convict of a heinous crime like rape does not walk free after serving a couple of years in a remand home, as had happened in the December 16 Nirbhaya incident.

The Lok Sabha had earlier passed the Bill.