In Brief
The Supreme Court allowed a criminal appeal by an appellant who claimed juvenility at the time of the alleged offence on 01.01.2010. The Court directed the District and Sessions Judge to conduct an inquiry under Section 7-A of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 and Rule 12 of the Juvenile Justice Rules, 2007. Based on the inquiry report, the Court found the appellant's matriculation certificate and school records conclusively proved a date of birth of 01.08.1992, making the appellant 17 years 5 months old on the date of the offence—below 18 years. The Court held the appellant was a juvenile-in-conflict-with-law. Since the appellant had already undergone incarceration exceeding seven years (beyond the JJ Act maximum), the Court ordered immediate release if not required in other cases, with all prescribed consequences applying.
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