AJIL I.A. Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has been arrayed as the 2nd accused in Crime No. 155/2019 of Munambam Police Station, registered for offences punishable under Secs.377, 506 and 34 of the I.P.C . The petitioner has asserted that his date of birth is 25.2.2002 and that he would complete the age of majority of 18 years only on 25.2.2020 as evident from Anx. A-3 SSLC certificate and that even if it is alleged that the entire incidents in the above crime are true, the petitioner's case cannot be dealt with as if he is an accused, who is regulated by the Code of Criminal Procedure and that the petitioner's case has to be dealt with strictly in terms of the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act (Care and Protection of Children) Act , 2015 (J.J Act, 2015) as he is juvenile in conflict with law as conceived in the said Act and therefore, the Police authorities have no competence or power whatsoever to order his arrest and remand in judicial custody to jail, etc.

(2.) The learned Prosecutor was earlier requested to get specific instructions as to correctness of the date of birth of the petitioner as shown in Anx. A-3 certificate. Today when the matter was taken up for consideration, the learned Prosecutor submits on the basis of the instructions of the investigating officer that now it has been revealed that the petitioner's date of birth is 25.2.2002 as discernible from Anx. A-3. Since that is an indisputable factual position, it is only to be held that the competent authorities concerned can deal with the petitioner only in terms of the provisions contained in the J.J. Act, as even going by the prosecution case, he can be treated only as a juvenile in conflict with law as conceived in the J.J. Act and therefore the petitioner's case should be dealt with by the competent authorities strictly in accordance with the provisions contained in Sec. 14 of the J.J. Act. Sec. 14 of the said Act provides as follows:

(3.) Further Sec.8(2) of the J.J. Act specifically mandates that the powers conferred on the Juvenile Justice Board by or under the said Act may also be exercised by the High Court and the Children's Court, when the proceedings come before them under Sec. 19 or in appeal, revision or otherwise.