Greeva Garg –
While disposing of a Writ petition seeking an Anticipatory Bail of a juvenile, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has ruled that application is not maintainable under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The Court said that the remedy could be availed under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
The vacation bench headed by Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj directed the juvenile to file a proper application for relief maintainable under law.
The bench, observing that the issue of maintainability of the petition on behalf of a juvenile under Section 438 of CrPC is of prime importance, said, “For dealing with the juvenile, the relevant Act is The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which is a complete code in itself and has specific provision for dealing with the child in conflict with the law. Section 10 deals with the apprehension of the child alleged to be in conflict with the law and Section 12 pertains to bail to a person who is apparently a child alleged to be in conflict with the law.”
The petitioner juvenile was alleged for sexual offence in regard to the FIR registered against him under Section 8 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
Denying all the allegations the juvenile moved to the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
Justice Bhardwaj said that, “Provisions of Section 438 CrPC are enumerated for granting the bail to the person who has apprehension of the arrest. A reading of provisions of Section 438 CrPC vis-a-vis of relevant provisions of the Act would show that a juvenile cannot be arrested and thus, there is no question of apprehension of his arrest.”
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