GURBAJ SINGH ALIAS BAJA Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER Gurbaj Singh alias Baja has filed this petition under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for the grant of regular bail in case FIR No. 300 dated 31.8.2004 under Section 15/16/85 of the NDPS Act, registered at Police Station Pehowa, District Kurukshetra.

(2.) I have heard the arguments of learned counsel for the parties and gone through the contents of the FIR as well as the orders dated 9.10.2006 and 16.10.2006, passed by Principal Member, Juvenile Justice Board, Kurukshetra and Additional Sessions Judge, Kurukshetra, respectively, whereby bail application of the petitioner has been dismissed.

(3.) COUNSEL for the petitioner contends that the petitioner was the juvenile at the time of the commission of the alleged offence, as his date of birth is 30.12.1987. He further contends that vide order dated 19.9.2006, passed by Principal Member, Juvenile Justice Board, Kurukshetra, the petitioner has been declared a juvenile (Copy of the order has been annexed with the petition as Annexure P-3). Counsel contends that bail application of the petitioner has been dismissed by the courts below, without taking into consideration the provisions of Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), which provide that when any person accused of a bailable or non-bailable offence, and apparently a juvenile, is arrested or detained or appears or is brought before a Board, such person shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure or any other law for the time being in force, be released on bail with or without surety but he shall not be so released if there appear reasonable grounds for believing that the release is likely to bring him into association with any known criminal or expose him to moral, physical or psychological danger or that his release would defeat the ends of justice. Counsel for the petitioner contends that in this case, the petitioner was juvenile and merely because he was found sitting on three bags lying on the road side, it cannot be presumed that he was having conscious possession of the contraband. He further contends that merely because the alleged offence committed by the petitioner is serious one, bail cannot be declined to him. Counsel submits that bar of Section 37 of the NDPS Act will not come in the way of the petitioner, a juvenile, in view of Section 12 of the Act. He further submits that the petitioner is not involved in any other case of similar nature and there is no chance that his release will bring him into association with any known criminal or expose him to moral, physical or psychological danger or that his release would defeat the ends of justice.