JXXXXX Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present application under Sec. 20 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, read with Sec. 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, has been moved on behalf of the appellant/juvenile (J) with a prayer that the case of the appellant/juvenile be forwarded to the Juvenile Justice Board for declaring him as juvenile.

(2.) The application has been moved in an appeal preferred against the judgment of conviction dtd. 17/1/2006 and order of sentence dtd. 20/1/2006 passed by the Special Court in an NDPS case, whereby the appellant was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of 10 years along with fine of Rs.1,00,000.00 and in default of payment of fine, to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year, punishable under Sec. 15(c) of the NDPS Act. It is not in dispute that the appellant has undergone about four years and one month of actual sentence and his sentence was suspended in the year 2009 after undergoing the aforesaid period. At the relevant time, no plea of juvenility was raised and the appellant was treated as an ordinary accused.

(3.) It is the case of the applicant/appellant that subsequently, when the appeal was taken up for arguments, an application was moved for placing on record the school leaving certificate dtd. 5/12/2008 and an affidavit/adoption deed dtd. 19/3/2001 as Annexures A-l and A-2. The said application was allowed and the documents were taken on record. A report was also filed on behalf of the State by learned Additional Advocate General, Punjab, in the form of an affidavit dtd. 28/10/2025, wherein it has been stated that the date of birth of the applicant/appellant has been verified from the school record as 12/11/1984. It has further been stated that on the date of registration of FIR i.e. 20/3/2000, the applicant/appellant was aged about 15 years, 4 months and 8 days. The State has also annexed the certificate issued by Government Senior Secondary School, Village Rampura Narainpura, Tehsil Abohar. Thus, the school record produced by the applicant/appellant stands duly verified by the State and there is no dispute regarding the date of birth of the applicant/appellant.