SHIV SHANKAR Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Delay condoned.

(2.) The question of applicability of the provisions of the U. P. Children Act and the Juvenile Justice Act was never raised in any forums below or even in this SLP. But, this being a pure question of law, we had issued notice to the other side. The provisions of the Act would apply only if the accused conclusively establishes the fact that he was a juvenile on the date of the occurrence. In support of the fact that the accused was a juvenile on the date of the occurrence, on 16-5-1978, a document has been appended for the first time in this Court as Annexure P-2 which is supposed to be a certificate of junior High School Examination of 1991. In the said examination, the accused appeared as a private candidate and that certificate indicates that his date of birth is 1-8-1962.

(3.) We are not prepared to give a seal of approval to the aforesaid certificate indicating the date of birth of the accused to be 1-8-1962, inasmuch as the examination in question was taken in 1991 whereas the occurrence itself was of the year 1978. Had the accused taken this plea before the forums below, possibly an inquiry could have been gone into, but we are not prepared to accept the document which has been filed for the first time as annexure P-2 as conclusive material on the basis of which it can be said that the accused was a juvenile on the date of occurrence. In that view of the matter, we see no merit in this application. It is dismissed accordingly.