Punjab Haryana HC: Juvenile bail plea must be decided on the basis of Social Investigation Report

Deepali Kalia

Punjab and Haryana High Court restated that the decision on the bail application of a juvenile under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 must be given after considering the Social Investigation Report of the juvenile in question.

A bench of Justice Jaishree Thakur stated that decision on Juvenile’s bail application should be on the basis of Social Investigation Report submitted by the probation officer and not merely on the account of reports of the case and report filed under Section 173 Cr.P.C. by the investigation officer.

In the present case, the Court was hearing criminal application for setting aside an order by the Juvenile Justice board which involved rejection of the petitioner-child’s bail application and the order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Rohtak that dismissed the appeal filed against the said order.

The petitioner, less than 16 years old at the time of the alleged commission of the offence was charged for murder of the complainant’s son.

During the investigation he had admitted to his participation in the alleged commission of the offence.

The Bench then thoroughly went through the Social Investigation Report of the petitioner and made the following observations:

It has been recorded in the report that his relations with his family members, friends, teachers and classmates are cordial. As per the report, the petitioner, who is a matriculate, comes across as a normal child.”

“It has been further noticed that the petitioner is neither a member of any gang nor involved in drug peddling nor does he have any criminal past. The reason for the alleged offence has been given as “peer group influence” and the petitioner appears to be physically fit and mentally sound as reported by his family.”

The bench further noted that under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice Act, grant of bail to a child in conflict with law is a rule and rejection of the same is an exception.

“In case a juvenile is found guilty and convicted, the maximum period that he can be ordered to spend in a Special Home under Section 18 (1) (f) of the Act is three years. The petitioner has spent more than one year in incarceration, therefore, no purpose would be served in detaining the petitioner any further.” The Court stated.

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