ORDER

1. This appeal is directed by the State of Haryana on being aggrieved by the judgment of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana rendered in Criminal Appeal No. 584 of 1978 holding that the respondent Balwant Singh was less than 16 years of age on the date of the commission of the offence and as such he was covered by the definition of term "child" as given in Section 2(d) of the Haryana Children Act, 1974 and he, therefore, has to be detained only in a special school up to the age of 18 years. On the above finding the High Court set aside the sentence of imprisonment for life imposed on the respondent by the trial court for the conviction under Section 302 IPC and the sentence of two months R.I. under Section 323 IPC and ordered that the respondent "shall stand discharged of his bail bonds" and that he could not be sent even to special school as required by law as by the time of the pronouncement of the judgment, he had completed the age of 18 years. The High Court for drawing such inference has placed reliance only on an entry made in the statement of the accused, recorded under Section 313 CrPC wherein the age of the respondent was mentioned as 17 years.

2. We have gone through