MUKESH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The instant criminal revision under Section 397/401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for short, "the Code" hereinafter) is directed against the order dated 16.02.2005 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Sangaria (for short, "the trial Court" hereinafter) in a case arising out of FIR No.315/2004, Police Station, Sangaria, whereby the application filed by accused-petitioner for determination of his age and forwarding him to Juvenile Justice Board, as the petitioner claims that he had not attended the age of 18 years on the date of alleged commission of crime, came to be dismissed by the trial Court by the impugned order. Aggrieved by the impugned order dated 16.02.2005 passed by the trial Court, the petitioner has filed the instant revision petition.

(2.) I have heard learned Counsel for the petitioner and the Public Prosecutor for the State. I have carefully gone through the impugned order, as also the challan papers.

(3.) On a Parcha-Bayan of one Satish Vadhwa, an FIR No.315 dated 27.05 2004 was registered at Police Station, Sangaria against the petitioner and others for the offences under Sections, 307, 452, 323, 147, 148 and 149, IPC. It was alleged in the FIR that on 27.05.2004, at about 11.20 p.m., Vishnu and Rajesh sons of Rameshwar, along with accused-petitioner Mukesh and two-three other persons, came to his PCO shop and dragged him out of the shop. Three of them had Gandasis and they inflicted injuries to him. He was rescued by certain persons and thereafter he was taken to hospital. The investigation ensued and the petitioner was arrested at about 5.40 p.m. on 30.05.2004. In the arrest memo, the age of the petitioner has been shown as 18 years. After investigation, the police filed challan against the accused in the Court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sangaria, who, in turn, committed the case to the trial Court. Petitioner moved an application before the trial Court, along with a copy of the marks-sheet of VIII standard of the year 2003, wherein the name of the petitioner has been shown as Mukesh Kumar S/o Shri Purna Ram and his date of birth has been shown as 14.07.1992. According to the petitioner, on the date of alleged occurrence, i.e., on 27.05.2004, he had not attended the age of 18 years and, therefore, he is juvenile as defined under section 2(k) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (for short, "the Act"), The trial Court, relying on the arrest memo, wherein the age of the petitioner has been shown as 18 years, and the fact that after investigation the police filed challan against the petitioner wherein the father's name of the petitioner has been shown as Puran Ram whereas in the marks-sheet of the year 2003, his father's name has been shown as Puma Ram, as also on the basis of its own observation that the petitioner is physically well-built and well-nourished and appears to be major, rejected the application filed by the petitioner.