In Brief
Lok Nath Pandey's father appealed against the High Court's order declaring the accused (respondent No. 2) a juvenile in a Section 302 IPC case. The accused had two different matriculation certificates with conflicting dates of birth: 7th October 1990 (first two schools) and 10th August 1993 (third school). The Supreme Court held that the earliest declaration recorded in the first school registers is the conclusive proof of age under the Juvenile Justice Rules. The accused was therefore 19 years old on the offence date (8th April 2010) and not entitled to juvenile protection. The appeal was allowed, and the accused was directed to be tried under the IPC.
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