MANISH TYAGI Vs. STATE OF U P

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The neat legal question which is involved in this application is as to whether Sessions Judge had got the power of Juvenile Justice Board in consonance with Section 6(2) of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000, (Act No. 56 of 2000) or not? The contention of Sri V.P. Srivastava, learned Senior Counsel for the applicant, Manish Tyagi is that under the aforesaid sub-section. Sessions Judge as well as the High Court has been statutorily conferred with such power visa-vis Juvenile Justice Board. The submission is that in view of the provision of Section 6(2) of the Act there cannot be another inquiry by Juvenile Justice Board for determining as to whether the accused is a Juvenile of not once the inquiry conducted by the Additional Sessions Judge has declared him to be such. Before determining the proposition of law harangued by the applicant a thumb nail description of the facts seems to be indispensable which is sketched below.

(2.) The applicant, as is perceptible from the pleading made in the affidavit appended along with this Criminal Misc. Application, under Section 482 Cr.P.C, invoking the inherent power of this Court, are that the applicant is a socio criminals for an offence under Section 302 I.P.C. vide Crime No. 83 of 2005. FIR was lodged by Sri Om in respect of said incident alleged to have taken place on 11-4-2005 at 6.30 p.m. Investigation into the crime charge sheeted the applicant as accused for the said offence and the applicant start facing trial before Additional Sessions Judge, Court No. 3, Mathura in S.T. No. 574 of 2005.

(3.) During the course of the trial the applicant Manish Tyagi moved an application oh 11-4-2005 that he was below 18 years Of age and hence he was a juvenile, Resultantly he prayed that he should be declared a juvenile and be ordered to be dealt with as such in accordance with the provisions of Juvenile Justice Act 2000. Additional Sessions Judge. Court No. 3 Meerut who is seized of the aforesaid S. T. No. 574 of 2005 conducted an inquiry and examined Jugneshwar father of the applicant as C.W. 1, Pandit Chitranjan Sharma (who had prepared the horoscope of the applicant) as C.W. 2 and Surendra Kumar as C.W. 3 (who is Principal of Janta Inter-College, Kethwari where the applicant had studied from 6 standard up to intermediate). According to the Statement of C.W. 3, the date of birth of the applicant was recorded in the school register as 23-9-1987.