MANDEEP SHARMA Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner has filed this petition under Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973 ('Cr.P.C.' for short) challenging the order dated 16.5.2015 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Amritsar, whereby the appeal filed by the petitioner challenging the order dated 12.11.2013 passed by the Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board, Amritsar dismissing the claim of the petitioner to declare him a juvenile, was also dismissed.

(2.) Brief facts of the case are that the FIR No.69 dated 1.6.2011 under Sections 302/325/323 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ('IPC for short) was registered at Police Station Cantonment Amritsar, District Amritsar against the petitioner and his father and co-accused- Lakhwinder Kumar. As per the allegations in the FIR, four brothers, namely, Kamal Kishore, Ashok Kumar, Brij Kishore (now deceased) and one Kirpal Singh had purchased a plot, where four shops, existed and coaccused- Lakhwinder Kumar was in possession of one of such shop as a tenant and ejectment application was pending against him. On 23.5.2011, Lakhwinder Kumar and petitioner came there, abused Brij Kishore for fixing tin sheds on the property and caused injuries to Brij Kishore. Later on, the FIR was registered under under Sections 326/325 read with Section 34 IPC. On 27.6.2011, the dead body of Brij Kishore was found in the bank of Canal and, thereafter, Section 302 IPC was added.

(3.) During the pendency of the case, petitioner-Mandeep Sharma, filed an application before the Juvenile Justice Board for declaring him as a juvenile. In the application, it was submitted that the date of birth of Mandeep Sharma is 8.12.1993, whereas, the prosecution alleged his date of birth as 4.11.1992. In support of his claim, petitioner produced on record a petition filed by her mother under Section 125 Cr.P.C. against his father on 11.8.993 in which, in para 5, she has stated that she was turned out of her matrimonial home when she was pregnant and gave birth to a male child in September, 1992. This child was elder brother of petitioner, namely, Sandeep Sharma. Accordingly, it was submitted that the petitioner was not born in the year 1992 and his date of birth is 8.12.199 Petitioner submitted another document i.e. his middle standard certificate to prove his date of birth. It is also submitted in the application that the complainant had forged the birth certificate issued by the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar, and, in this regard, the mother of the petitioner had registered FIR No.1, dated 8.1.2013 under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B IPC.