Samajwadi Party (SP) Maharashtra President and MLA Abu Asim Azmi on Monday, 19 October 2026, called for lowering the age threshold for treating an accused as a juvenile from 17 years to 14 years, arguing that adolescents who commit murder should face the same punishment as adults. His remarks came in direct response to the firing incident targeting Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai's Juhu area the previous evening.

What Azmi Said

Speaking to reporters, Azmi argued that teenagers aged 15 or 16 are fully capable of violent acts and should not be shielded by juvenile protections. 'First and foremost, my demand is that the age threshold for a minor be lowered from 17 years to 14 years. At 15 or 16, young people have 'hot blood'; they fear no one and are capable of doing anything. This age limit should be reduced to 12, 13 or 14 years. If they commit murder, they should face the same punishment as anyone else,' he said.

The demand reopens a long-running debate on juvenile justice reform in India. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 had already lowered the threshold for heinous offences — allowing 16-to-18-year-olds to be tried as adults — but Azmi's call goes further, targeting the floor of that range.

The Tiger Shroff Firing Incident

The trigger for Azmi's statement was an attack on Sunday evening at approximately 7 pm, when Tiger Shroff was returning by car from a football ground in Juhu, Mumbai. According to police, assailants fired at the vehicle with a pistol, injuring the driver; another person at the scene was also hit by a bullet. A Mumbai Police official said Shroff managed to lean forward as shots were fired, avoiding a direct hit, though he sustained an injury from shattered glass fragments. Police are investigating the motive, tracing the weapon, and determining whether additional suspects were involved.

In a significant development, Kota City Police in Rajasthan apprehended three suspects — including a minor — at Kota railway station in connection with the attack.

Mumbai's Law and Order Under the Scanner

Azmi used the incident to mount a broader critique of the law and order situation in Mumbai, citing the earlier killing of politician Baba Siddique and what he described as a pattern of violent crimes going unnoticed when the victims are not public figures. 'First Baba Siddique, now Tiger Shroff, and it doesn't end there. Many other murders have occurred previously as well. However, since those victims were not prominent or famous figures, their cases haven't been highlighted. Murders are rampant in Mumbai. In Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar, people are being murdered over the most trivial matters. The law and order situation is in a dire state,' he said.

Attack on Maharashtra Government

Azmi also levelled a sharp political charge at the Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, alleging that it was diverting attention toward targeting a religious minority rather than tackling crime. 'I want to tell Chief Minister Fadnavis that this government is focussing all its energy on humiliating Muslims,' he said, drawing a comparison with the swift justice systems of Singapore and Arab countries. He added that people in Mumbai were living in constant fear and called it shameful that individuals openly claimed responsibility for violent crimes.

What Comes Next

Police in both Mumbai and Kota are continuing their probe into the Juhu firing, with the arrest of three suspects — one of them a minor — likely to renew calls for tougher juvenile sentencing norms. Whether Azmi's demand gains legislative traction in Maharashtra or at the Centre will depend on the political momentum this case generates in the weeks ahead.