(Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Uday Umesh Lalit, JJ.)
Achche Lal _______________________________________ Appellant
v.
State of Madhya Pradesh __________________________ Respondent
Criminal Appeal No. 1180 of 2016 [Arising out SLP (Crl.) No. 4510 of 2015], decided on December 2, 2016
The Order of the court was delivered by
Order
1. Leave granted.
2. Delay condoned.
3. Applications for exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment and exemption from filing O.T. are allowed.
4. Heard Mr. Rishi Malhotra, learned counsel appearing for the appellant – Achche Lal and Mr. Naveen Sharma, learned counsel appearing for the State of Madhya Pradesh.
5. This appeal arises out of order dated 12.09.2003 passed by the High Court of Judicature of Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur Bench Gwalior in Criminal Appeal No. 113 of 1991 whereby the High Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the order passed by the Sessions Court convicting the appellant for the offences punishable under Sections 148 and 302/49 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘IPC’ for short), and sentencing him to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for life with default stipulation.
6. Mr. Rishi Malhotra, learned counsel appearing for the appellant raised the question of juvenility under Section 7A of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (for short ‘the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000’) and in that behalf drew our attention to the Certificate issued by the Office of the District Education Officer, District Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, wherein the date of birth of the appellant is shown as 04.03.1974 and submits that the appellant was a juvenile on the date of the incident i.e. on 06.03.1990.
7. This Court, by order dated 29.08.2016, directed the Additional Sessions Judge, Pichhore, District Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh to make an enquiry with regard to the juvenility of the appellant under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 and file a Report thereto.
8. Accordingly, the Additional Sessions Judge, Pichhore District Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh has submitted a Report dated 02.11.2016. We have carefully perused the findings of the District & Sessions Judge, who in his report, has specifically stated that as on the date of the incident i.e. 06.03.1990, the age of the applicant-Achche Lal was 16 years 02 days. It further appears from the Report that the Additional Sessions Judge had summoned all the records of the case and, in particular, a Certificate issued by the District Education Officer of school first attended by the appellant, wherein his date of birth is recorded as 04.03.1974 and came to the above conclusion.
9. In view of the above, we are of the view that the appellant should get the benefit under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 since he was a Juvenile on the date of commission of the offence. Therefore, we declare him a Juvenile and grant him benefit in terms of Section 7A of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.
10. Accordingly, the impugned judgment passed by the High Court is set aside qua the appellant herein and he is directed to be released forthwith, if not required in any other offence.
11. The appeal is allowed in the afore-stated terms.
Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s). 4510/2015
Achche Lal ________________________________________ Petitioner
v.
State of Madhya Pradesh ____________________________ Respondent
(with appln. (s) for c/delay in filing SLP and exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment and exemption from filing O.T. and interim relief and office report)
Date : 02/12/2016 This petition was called on for hearing today.
(Before Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Uday Umesh Lalit, JJ.)
For Petitioner(s) Mr. Rishi Malhotra, AOR
For Respondent(s) Mr. Naveen Sharma, Adv.
Mr. Arjun Garg, AOR
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
ORDER
12. Leave granted.
13. Delay condoned.
14. Applications for exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment and exemption from filing O.T. are allowed.
15. The appeal is allowed in terms of the signed order.
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