Juveniles between 16-18 can’t be tried as adult U/S 304 of IPC: SC

Kritika Pandey | Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda | 15th January 2020

Shilpa Mittal Vs. State of NCT of Delhi & Anr., C.A. NO. 34 of 2020

Facts:

● A juvenile ‘X’ ran down a young man with his over speeding Mercedes Benz. Even before this incident, three traffic violations were reported against his father’s car which was driven by him.

● The juvenile at the time of accident was above 16 years but below 18 years.

● The offence committed by the juvenile comes under Sec 304 of the IPC, the punishment for which may extend to ten years, but there is no minimum punishment prescribed.

● The Juvenile Justice Board held that juvenile ‘X’ has committed a heinous offence, and therefore should be tried as an adult. The appeal filed to the Children’s Court was also dismissed.

● Thereafter, the juvenile ‘X’, through his mother approached the High Court of Delhi.

● HC held that since no minimum sentence is prescribed for the offence in question, the said offence did not fall within the ambit of Section 2(33) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Appellant Contention:

● As per the Act 2015,

○ Petty offences are those offences where the punishment is up to 3 years,

○ serious offences are those where the maximum punishment is of 7 years,

○ and heinous offences are those offences which provide a minimum sentence of 7 years and above.

● If from the definition of ‘heinous offences’, the word ‘minimum’ is removed then all offences other than petty and serious would fall under the heading of ‘heinous offences’.

● A 4th category of offences have been left out by the Legislature.

Respondent Contention:

● This Court cannot rewrite the law.

● The intention of the Legislature cannot be decoded by this Court only on the ground that a category of offences have been left out Issue: Whether an offence prescribing a maximum sentence of more than 7 years imprisonment but not providing any minimum sentence, can be considered to be a ‘heinous offence’ within the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015?

Held:

● By using Article142 of the Constitution, SC directed that all children who have committed offences falling in the 4th category shall be dealt with in the same manner as children who have committed ‘serious offences’.

● An offence which does not provide a minimum sentence of 7 years cannot be treated to be a heinous offence.