Priya Gour
Published on :28 July, 2022 at 20:01 IST
In a recent application made by the NIA involving the trial of a juvenile as an adult, the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that Special Judge under the NIA act cannot try a juvenile directed to be tried as an adult by the Children’s court.
The ruling was given by Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri who rejected the petition filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against a juvenile’s transfer of trial from Tarn Taran Children’s Court to Mohali NIA Special Court.
The case involved a juvenile booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 IPC in 2019 and the provisions of the Explosive Substances Act .The juvenile was held as a co accused in an explosion that left two people dead and another person loosing vision.
The case was taken up by NIA , for planning out violent attacks on communal basis The directions for his trial as an adult were given owing the fact that he was a few days short of attaining the age of 18.
Justice Puri asserted that the trial proceedings was to be taken place before the Children’s Court and Juvenile Justice Board’s, as they have the power to deal exclusively with all proceedings under this Act relating to children in conflict with law.
Justice Puri observed that, “When an FIR is registered under a Scheduled Act prescribed under NIA Act and a juvenile has been directed to be tried as an adult, the jurisdiction would vest in the Children’s Court and not in the Special Judge under the NIA Act.”
Further the Court also stated that the Child in Conflict with law cannot be taken away with his/her basic rights given by the law. It would be a grave injustice served to them. The Children’s Court has been exclusively mandated to deal such matters concerning children .
Henceforth , the Court dismissed the application of NIA as it could lead to snatching away a safeguard rules and regulations framed for Juvenile accused deriving it’s source from the Constitution and international conventions and resolutions.