AAKASH JUVENILE Vs. NCT OF DELHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of this Revision Petition, the Petitioner Aakash takes exception to the order dated 24.08.2012 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ), Dwarka whereby the order dated 31.03.2012 passed by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) holding the Petitioner Aakash to be a juvenile was reversed and the Petitioner was held not to be a juvenile.

(2.) FIR No.63/2011 under Section 363/366/376(2)(f)/308 IPC, Police Station Sagarpur was registered against the Petitioner. The Petitioner was declared to be a juvenile by an order dated 08.04.2011, while the case was at the stage of defence's evidence. The order dated 08.04.2011 was assailed in an Appeal before the learned ASJ. By an order dated 10.10.2011 the matter was remanded to the JJB with the direction to conduct a fresh inquiry into the age and date of birth of the Petitioner. The JJB conducted a fresh inquiry to determine the question of Petitioner's juvenility and held that his date of birth was to be taken as 05.04.1995. Consequently, on the date of commission of the offence the Petitioner was held to be 15 years 11 months and 4 days and thus, a juvenile under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 (the Act of 2000).

(3.) The Complainant, that is, the Prosecutrix through her natural guardian successfully assailed the order dated 09.04.2012 passed by the JJB. While reversing the order dated 31.03.2012, the learned ASJ was swayed by the fact that the date of birth, that is, 05.04.1995 mentioned in the MCD Primary School, Dabri at the time of the admission was only by approximation on the basis of the Affidavit Ex.CW-1/1 sworn in by the Petitioner's father Malkhan Singh. Thus, the learned ASJ preferred the ossification test according to which the Petitioner was more than 22 years on the date of commission of the offence. Paras 9 to 12 of the impugned order are extracted hereunder:-