Judgment :

Leave granted.

This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 10th February, 2009, passed by the Calcutta High Court in CRR No. 2535 of 2005, dismissing the application filed on behalf of the appellants claiming that they were minors at the time of the alleged offence and that they could not, therefore, be tried along with the adult co-accused.

The only ground for rejection of the appellants' application by the trial Court was that the application had been made at a belated stage and the same, therefore, could not be entertained.

We are unable to agree with the said view expressed by the High Court in view of the statutory provisions of Section 7A of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, as amended in 2009 (for short "The Act"). Section 7A of the Act, as it now reads, gives right to any accused to raise the question of juvenility at any point oftime, and if such an issue is raised, the Court is under an obligation to make an inquiry and deal with the question. The said Section has to be read along with Rule 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, as amended in 2007. Accordingly, the said observation of