judgment

S.B. Sinha, J. —

1. Leave granted.

2. Appellant herein is said to be a delinquent juvenile. He was accused of commission of an offence under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for killing one of his school mates. He is said to have stabbed the deceased several times. The incident took place on 12.05.2000. His age was estimated at about 17 years as on the said date by the learned Magistrate before whom he was produced.

At that point of time, the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 (for short “the 1986 Act”) was in force. In terms of the provisions of the 1986 Act, “juvenile” meant a boy who had not attained the age of sixteen years. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (for short “the 2000 Act”) came into force with effect from 1.04.2001. “Juvenile” has been defined in the 2000 Act to mean a person who has not completed eighteen years of age. Section 16 of the 2000 Act, as it stood then, provides for a non-obstante clause prohibiting imposition of sentence to death or life imprisonment or commitment to person in default of payment of fine or in default of furnishing security, on a delinquent juvenile.

3. Section 20 of the 2000 Act, as it stood then, reads