Punjab and Haryana High Court Upholds Transfer of Trial, Treating Juvenile as Adult in Heinous Offense Case

Chandigarh, May 3, 2023: In a significant ruling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, presided over by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Anoop Chitkara, has upheld the transfer of trial and treated a juvenile in a heinous offense case as an adult. The decision came in a Criminal Revision Petition (CRR-452-2023) filed by the juvenile, Bholu, who was in conflict with the law, against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The case pertained to an incident that occurred on September 8, 2017, in Gurugram, where the juvenile was charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Arms Act, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act).

The High Court, after careful consideration of the previous orders and appeals, including those made before the Supreme Court, found that the Juvenile Justice Board had followed the directions of the apex court and conducted a detailed assessment of the mental and physical capacity of the juvenile. The Board concluded that the juvenile possessed the necessary capacity to understand the consequences of the offense and transferred the trial to the Children's Court under Section 18(3) of the JJ Act.

The Court further observed that the Board had strictly adhered to the Supreme Court's directions and found no illegality in its decision. The detailed assessment included factors such as mental age, intelligence functioning, clinical assessment, social investigation report, and family circumstances. The Court also took note of the absence of evidence regarding parental neglect, abuse, or substance abuse by the juvenile.

03.05.2023

Bholu, a ‘Juvinile in conflict with law’ vs Central Bureau of Inves ga on