Piloting the bill, Law Minister Moudud Ahmed said under the new provision a child of nine years could be exempted from criminal responsibility while a child in the age group 9-12 could be given limited exemption if he or she is found insufficiently matured.

"The government did not propose to raise the age limit from 12 to 14 since it was found that two main accused of the murder of Govt Laboratory School teacher, both aged 14, had staged the cold-blooded murder," the minister told the lawmakers.

Awami League (AL) lawmakers AKM Jahangir Hossain and Rahmat Ali moved motion for eliciting public opinion before passage of the bill. AKM Jahangir said there should be uniformity in age limit of children for exemption from criminal responsibility.

The law minister said it is not possible to make a uniform age limit, because each law is made for a particular subject and it is not possible for making a uniform age of children for immunity from criminal responsibility.

However, the bill was passed by voice vote without much discussion, as most of the members who had served notices were absent.