Tweet Madhya Pradesh High Court | Vivek Agarwal*, J., held that the Aadhaar Card being a unique identification card issued by the Indian Government, cannot be relied upon to determine the age of a prosecutrix in cases under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Rules, 2012. In the instant matter, the Special Judge (POCSO), District Jabalpur vide order dated 08-04-2023, rejected the application filed by the accused seeking submission of original Aadhaar card as a proof of date of birth of the prosecutrix and photocopy of which was already available on record. Aggrieved by the impugned ord ..read more

Tweet     Bombay High Court: In a case relating to an article published by Mid-Day, pursuant to the order of the instant Court dated 20-10-2022 wherein the names of the parties as well as the photos of the child in conflict with law, was published, a Division Bench of Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj K. Chavan, J., issued show cause notice to the scribe of the said article i.e., Shirish Vaktania, the Publisher and Editor of Mid-Day, as to why suo-motu action should not be initiated against them. Counsel for respondent 3 submitted that the publication of the names of the parties as ..read more

Tweet Supreme Court: In the Kathua Rape and murder case where one of the accused was found to be taking the statutory shelter under the guise of being a minor, the bench of Ajay Rastogi and JB Pardiwala*, JJ observed that it was gathering an impression that the leniency with which the juveniles are dealt with in the name of goal of reformation is making them more and more emboldened in indulging in such heinous crimes. Observing that the rising rate of juvenile delinquency in India is a matter of concern and requires immediate attention, the Court said that “There is a school of thought, exis ..read more

Tweet Supreme Court: In the 2018 horrific case relating to the abduction, rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua District of J&K by six men and one accused claiming to be a juvenile at the time of the incident, the bench of Ajay Rastogi and JB Pardiwala*, JJ has held that the respondent accused was not a juvenile at the time of commission of the offence and should be tried the way other co-accused were tried in accordance with the law. Stating that law has to take its own course and that the Court was only deciding the issue of juvenility in the case at hand, it was clarified ..read more

Tweet Allahabad High Court: In a criminal revision petition filed under Section 102 of the Juvenile Justice Act challenging the order passed by Juvenile Justice Board (‘JJB’), and challenging the order dated passed by Special Judge (POCSO) affirming the order of the JJB and declining bail to the juvenile for offences under sections 376-AB of the Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’) and Section – 5(m) or 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (‘POCSO Act’), Jyotsna Sharma, J. has observed that bail to a juvenile is not compulsory in all cases and can be denied for certain reasons, thus ..read more

Tweet On 1-09-2022, the Ministry of Women and Child Development notified amendments to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules, 2016 (‘Principal Rules’) which will be called as Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Amendment Rules, 2022. Key Amendments- Under Rule 2(1), clause (vi a) has been inserted which provides “conflict of interest” as “a situation in which a person has a private or personal interest sufficient to appear to influence the objective exercise of his or her official duties and where such person shall be ineligible to be associ ..read more

Tweet Supreme Court: The bench of Dinesh Maheshwari and JB Pardiwala*, JJ has observed that the plea of juvenility can be allowed to be raised at a considerably belated stage as the interest of a child is at stake as once a child is caught in the web of adult criminal justice system, it is difficult for the child to get out of it unscathed. Keeping in mind the main object and purpose of the Juvenile Justice law, the Court said that the focus should be on the juvenile’s reformation and rehabilitation so that he also may have an opportunity to enjoy as other children. Juvenility – Documentary ev ..read more

Tweet Supreme Court: In an unfortunate incident in 2017, a class II student was found with his throat slit in the bathroom of his school. A class XI student, aged 16 years and 5 months on the date of the incident, was arrested. The Supreme Court was called upon to examine the preliminary assessment made under Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The bench of Dinesh Maheshwari and Vikram Nath*, JJ has asked the Central Government and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights to consid ..read more

Tweet Uttaranchal High Court: Ravindra Maithani, J. dismissed an application for anticipatory bail in regards to an ongoing trial under Sections 376, 323, 504, and 506 Penal Code, 1860. The previous anticipatory bail application of the applicant had been rejected by the Fast Track Court/Special Judge, POCSO/Additional Sessions Judge, Dehradun on the ground that since the applicant is a child in conflict with the law (“CIL”) and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (“the Act”) does not make any provision for anticipatory bail, the application cannot be allowed. Couns ..read more

Tweet Orissa High Court: Savitri Ratho J. released the appellant on interim bail for a period of four months to the satisfaction of the Court in seisin of the case. The facts of the case are such that on 13.10.2019 at about 8 P.M. the appellant entered the house of the informant and abused him in obscene language and assaulted his son Pintu Naik by means of a Bhujali causing bleeding injuries. When the informant protested he was assaulted with fist blows and kicks for which he fell down. The appellant also took away some articles from his house. Pintu Naik succumbed to his injuries while under ..read more