Khushi Doshi
Published on: April 11, 2022 at 18:08 IST
The Order of Special Judge, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 /Additional Sessions Judge, Bulandshahar, which had Rejected an Application filed on behalf of one Naushad Ali (Revisionist), who is Charged with Rape and Penetrative Sexual Assault (under POCSO Act), for declaring him to be a Juvenile, was Quashed by the Bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi.
Ali moved to the High Court in this Case by filing the current Revision Petition against the Order of the Special Judge, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 /Additional Sessions Judge, Bulandshahar. The Court below determined that the revisionist was a major on the date of the incident based on his Voter ID because his birthday is April 7, 1994.
Suresh Kumar Maurya, Counsel for the revisionist, argued that Ali’s High School Certificate stated unequivocally that he had passed the High School Examination, 2015 from the Board of High School and Intermediate Education U.P., and that his date of birth was March 4, 2001.
It was also argued that the Court below failed to consider the Documents listed in Section 94(2) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, when determining the revisionist’s age, and thus refused to declare him (revisionist) a Juvenile.
The Court also stated that when the Revisionist’s age was mentioned in the High School Certificate, which was available to the Special Judge under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, he should have determined the Revisionist’s age solely on the High School Certificate.
As a result, the Court Quashed the Impugned Order and remanded the matter back to the Court below with a direction to reconsider and re-visit the entire matter once more and decide the matter anew, holding that the Court incorrectly Rejected the Claim of Juvenility based on Documents that were not classified under the Act of 2015.
The Court has also been directed to consider the Revisionist’s High School Certificate and decide the Case after authenticating and evaluating its authenticity, and to issue a well-reasoned order on merits strictly in accordance with the Law within eight weeks.