NASEEM Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) K. L. Sharma, J. This is a criminal revision directed against the judgment and order dated 3-12-1994 passed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Juvenile Court, Meerut Region, Meerut in crime Case No. 563 of 1993 under Section 302, I. P. C. and S. T. No. 309 of 1994 whereby the learned C. J. M. has directed a fresh inquiry for determination of age of the revisionist, who is in jail.

(2.) I have heard Sri Ram Niwas Sharma learned counsel for revisionist as well as the learned A. G. A. and perused the material brought on record.

(3.) IN order to examine the powers of the Juvenile Courts and of the superior courts under the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 (hereinafter to be referred as the Act ). It is necessary to refer to and reproduce the relevant provisions of the Act. The Act deals with neglected juveniles and delin quent juveniles with a view to advance the welfare of the neglected juveniles and to do justice with the delinquent juveniles for their rehabilitation in the society. By Section 2 (h), the Act defines a juvenile "a boy, who is not attained the age of sixteen years or a girl who has not attained the age of eighteen years". The scheme of the Act is that the State Government may constitute by notification for specified area one or more Juvenile Welfare Boards for exercising the powers and discharging the duties conferred or imposed on such Board in relation to neglected juveniles under this Act : Section 4 (2) "a Board shall consist of a Chairman and such other members as the State Government thinks fit to appoint, of whom not less than one shall be a woman, and every such member shall be vested with the powers of a Magistrate under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974)". Section 4 (3) "the Board shall function as a Bench of Magistrates and shall have the powers conferred by Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) on a Metropolitan Magistrate or, as the case may be a Judicial Magistrate of the first class".