MASTER RAKESH JAISWAL Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner is facing trial for having kidnapped the prosecutrix with an intention to force her to have sexual inter-course and then committed rape upon the prosecutrix. He has been held to be not a juvenile by Judicial Magistrate 1st Class, Faridabad as well as by the Sessions Judge, Faridabad vide order dated July 28, 2012 and August 21, 2012, respectively. Counsel for the petitioner has contended that the school leaving certificate produced on the record indicating the date of birth of the petitioner as September 12, 1998, has been discarded and the PAN Card and learner's Driving licence has been believed showing the date of birth of the petitioner as September 12, 1992. Counsel for the petitioner has contended that as per Rule 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules 2007, preference is to be given to the school leaving certificate.

(2.) I have heard learned counsel for the petitioner and carefully gone through the orders passed by the Courts below. The school leaving certificate Ex. AW1/B which was strongly relied upon by the petitioner has been discarded by the Courts below on the ground that the accused had obtained admission in school which issued him school leaving certificate on April 2, 2007 and left the school on September 30, 2009 and that it was not the school first attended by the petitioner. In view of the above circumstance, it has been held by the Courts below that the petitioner had failed to discharge the onus to establish that his date of birth in the school record was genuinely entered as September 12,1998. I have considered the findings of the Courts below and I am of the opinion that on account of petitioner having not furnished information with regard to the date of birth entered in the school earlier attended, no illegality has been committed by the Courts below in relying upon PAN Card and Learner's Driving Licence. So far as the reliance of the petitioner on ration card is concerned, ration card does not contain the exact date of birth and it cannot be treated as relevant piece of evidence to determine the date of birth. No ground is made out for interference. Dismissed.