In Brief
Two appellants, Becharam Acharya and Chinta Acharya, were convicted of an offense in 1998. While Chinta was recognized as a juvenile, Becharam was initially denied juvenility status because he was over 16 years old at the time of offense. The Supreme Court held that the age threshold for juvenility (raised to 18 years by later amendments) applies retrospectively. Since Becharam was under 18 years at the time of occurrence, he qualifies for juvenile status. The Court allowed the appeal, directing the lower court to examine whether either appellant has already served sentences exceeding limits under Juvenile Justice law and to reduce or set aside excess imprisonment accordingly."
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