GURSHARAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) GURSHARAN Singh petitioner was tried for an offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code alongwith others by Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar who convicted him vide his order dated 23.4.1988 and sentenced him to undergo imprisonment for life. The appeal filed by the petitioner against his conviction and sentence was dismissed by this Court on 13.7.1990. The petitioner was arrested in the aforesaid case on 25.11.84 and he remained as an under trial prisoner till 23.4.88. After conviction when he filed an appeal, he was released on bail during the pendency of the appeal and he remained on bail from 2.6.88 to 23.11.90. While recording conviction and sentence, the Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar found that the petitioner was aged 19 years on 23.4.88. The Jail authorities also considered the age of the petitioner as 19 years at the time of his conviction. In this way when the offence was committed on 25.11.84, the petitioner was less than 16 years of age. When statement of the petitioner was recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a few days before his conviction the petitioner gave his age as 19 years and this age was never disputed.

(2.) THE petitioner alleged that as he was less than 16 years of age at the time of the commission of the offence, the provisions of East Punjab Children Act, 1949 (the Act for short) were applicable to him at the date of his conviction. Section 3(c) of the Act defined a child as a person under the age of 16 years and when used with reference to a child sent to a certified school applied to that child during the whole period of his detention, notwithstanding that the child may have attained the age of 16 years. Section 27 of the Act reads as under :-

(3.) IN the return filed by the respondent, it was contended that although age of the petitioner was given as 19 years on 23.4.88 when he was convicted by the Additional Sessions Judge, this fact was not mentioned in the judgment that the petitioner was below 16 years of age at the time of commission of offence on 25.11.1984. It was, however, conceded that in case the petitioner was found below 16 years of age at the time of commission of offence, then provisions of the Act were applicable to him and his case was liable to be referred to the Government for taking action under the provisions of the Act.