HARKAMAL SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners are facing allegations under Sections 302, 363, 366, 376, 201, 511, 148 and 149 IPC. The petitioner now seek the transfer of the case from one District to another on the ground that they apprehend that they would not get fair trial at Barnala. At later stage I will discuss the ground on which they seek the transfer.

(2.) THE first ground raised is that petitioner No. 1 was minor at the time of alleged occurrence and though the police officer had knowledge about the minority of the petitioner No. 1, they filed the charge sheet against him also on 9.9.1997. This aspect is sought to be pressed to show bias of police. Reply filed by the complainant in this case indicates that the extract from the Registrar of Birth and Death shows that petitioner No. 1 was born on 6.8.1979. He further submits that petitioner No. 1 was admitted in Baba Gandha Singh Public School, Barnala, wherein same birth date was given at the time of admission. However, the father of petitioner No. 1 has filed an affidavit in the past on 21.2.1994 and contended that the date of birth of his son was not 6.8.1979 but 6.8.1981. It, therefore, clearly appears in view of the material that showed that the date of birth (of) petitioner No. 1 was 6.8.1979, the police filed a charge sheet believing that the petitioner No. 1 was not minor at the time of commission of offence. If the petitioner wanted to raise the contention that he was juvenile offender at the time of commission of offence, it was still open to him to place before the Court material and get the orders.

(3.) THESE observations were made in the context of the allegations that the police officer of the rank of Deputy Director General of Police had shown hostility to the petitioner. While considering that aspect, in para 14 of the same report, their Lordship observed as follows :-