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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Indira Banerjee, J.K. Maheshwari, JJ.
Tikam Singh @ Tinku & Ors. – Petitioners
Versus
State of U.P. – Respondents
Writ Petition (Criminal) No.253 of 2021
Decided On : 16-12-2021
Constitution of India, 1950 – Article 32 – JJ Act, 2000 – Section 15(1)(g) – Writ Petition under Article 32 of Constitution of India has been filed by 13 Petitioners seeking orders directing Respondent-State to release Petitioners from custody – All these Petitioners have been sentenced, inter alia, to imprisonment for life – All Petitioners had been in custody for over as on date of filing of this Writ Petition, except for Petitioner No. 9, who had been in custody – By now, Petitioner has also been in custody – Held, In view of Section 16 read with Section 15(1)(g) of the JJ Act, 2000 maximum period for which Petitioners could have been detained in custody and even maximum custody had to be in a special home for juveniles – In no circumstances could Petitioners have been detained in custody beyond three years – Petitioners are liable to be released and their conviction by criminal courts liable to be set aside as without jurisdiction – By an order, this Court had directed that 13 Petitioners immediately be released on interim bail on furnishing bail bonds – Interim order of bail is confirmed since sentence of imprisonment in excess of against a juvenile is liable to be set aside – Writ petition disposed of.
ORDER :
1. This Writ Petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India has been filed by 13 Petitioners seeking orders directing the Respondent-State to release the Petitioners from custody.
2. All these Petitioners have been sentenced, inter alia, to imprisonment for life. All the Petitioners had been in custody for over 14 years as on date of filing of this Writ Petition, except for the Petitioner No. 9, who had been in custody for about 13 years 10 months. By now, the Petitioner No.9 has also been in custody for over 14 years.
3. By an order dated 24.05.2012 passed in a Public Interest Litigation being Criminal (PIL) Misc. W.P. No.855/2012, the Allahabad High Court directed the Juvenile Justice Boards to hold an enquiry for determination of the age of prisoners languishing in jails who claimed to have been juveniles in conflict with the law.
4. Pursuant to the aforesaid order of the Allahabad High Court dated 24.05.2012 the Juvenile Justice Boards concerned conducted an enquiry into the age of these 13 Petitioners, at the time of the alleged offence and found that they had all been less than 18 years of age.
5. Particulars of the orders of the Juvenile Justice Boards declaring the respective Petitioners to be juvenile as on the date of commission of the offence, the status of the criminal proceedings relating to the Petitioners and the period of incarceration undergone by the respective Petitioners as on 1st June, 2021 will appear from the table given hereinbelow:-
| Sr. No. | Name | Date of order of JJB | High Courts/Supreme Court Status | Sentence Undergone as on 1.6.21 |
| 1. | Tikam Singh @Tinku | 23.2.17 | Crl.Appeal No.399/2008-(Pending) | 20 years |
| 2. | Amit | 10.7.19 | Crl. Appeal No.1315/2016- (Pending) | 14 years |
| 3. | Asgar @ Hapli | 19.8.19 | Crl. Appeal No.2760/2007- (Pending) Crl. Appeal No.2713/2006- (Pending) | 19 years |
| 4. | Bablu @ Sahidul Hassan | 1.3.19 | Crl. Appeal No.1125/2010-(Pending) | 15 years |
| 5. | Shahid | 1.3.19 | Crl. Appeal No.1125/2010-(Pending) | 14.8 years |
| 6. | Bhola | 12.9.19 | Crl. Appeal No.4458/2008-(Pending) | 18.8 years |
| 7. | Furkaan | 25.10.18 | Crl. Appeal No.1315/2016-(Pending) | 14.6 years |
| 8. | Teju | 6.3.21 | Crl. Appeal No.6050/2009- (Pending) | 15.3 years |
| 9. | Waliuddin | 6.10.20 | Crl. Appeal No.2171/2012-(Pending) | 13.10 years |
| 10. | Sonu @ Gajendra | 1.8.18 | Crl. Appeal No.1013/2006-(Pending) | 20.10 years |
| 11. | Satvir | 19.10.19 | SLP (Crl.) No.2557-58/2015 dismissed on 23.2.17 | 19.1 years |
| 12. | Pintu Saini | 6.3.19 | SLP (Crl.) No.9833/2014 dismissed on 20.4.17 | 18.11 years |
| 13. | Aadil @ Pappu | 21.8.18 | SLP ( Crl.) No.5704/2005 disposed on 10.11.06 | 22.2 years |
6. Section 7A (1) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 hereinafter referred to as the “the JJ Act” and the proviso thereto provided that a claim of juvenility might be raised before any court and it shall be recognized at any stage, even after final disposal of the case, and such claim shall be determined in terms of the provisions contained in the JJ Act and the Rules made thereunder, even if the juvenile has ceased to be so, on or before the date of commencement of the JJ Act.
7. Sub-section (2) of Section 7A mandates that if the Court finds a person to be a juvenile on the date of the commission of offence under sub-section (1), it shall forward the juvenile to the Juvenile Justice Board for passing an appropriate order, and the sentence, if any, passed by a Court shall be deemed to have no effect.
8. Section 16 of the JJ Act, 2000 provides as hereunder:
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