REJUAL KARIM Vs. SUB INSPECTOR OF POLICE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this petition under S.482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, petitioners, who are accused 5 to 7 in Crime No. 1143 of 2011 of Parasala Police Station for offences under S.489B and S.489C r/w S.34 of the Indian Penal Code seek an order to quash Annexure A10 order whereby the Court below, after rejecting the plea of the petitioners that they are juvenile, found them not juvenile.

(2.) The petitioners produced Annexure 1 to 6 before the Court below in support of their plea that they are juveniles. But without considering those documents, petitioners were referred to Forensic Department of the Medical College and obtained certificate certifying that they are aged between 18 years and 21 years.

(3.) According to the learned counsel for the petitioners, R.12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007 deals with the procedure for deciding the juvenility concerning a child or a juvenile in conflict with law and that the juvenility should be determined on the basis of matriculation or equivalent certificates, birth certificate from the school or local authorities as contemplated under R.12(3)(a) and only in the absence of such certificate, report from the medical board can be obtained. Here, in this case, according to the learned counsel, the petitioners were not even referred to the medical board as contemplated under R.12(3)(b), but referred to the Forensic Department and therefore, the procedure adopted by the Court below is illegal and not sustainable.