The detention of a juvenile in an adult jail after being declared a juvenile contravenes the Juvenile Justice Act and constitutes a violation of constitutional rights, necessitating immediate corrective measures.

JUDGMENT :

J.K. MAHESHWARI, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. The present Appeal has been preferred assailing the order dated 20.05.2025 passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (hereinafter, ‘High Court’) in Criminal Revision No. 1491/2024 whereby the Revision against rejection of Appellant’s bail application was dismissed.

3. The High Court, in the order impugned, has observed as thus -

“8. Having gone through the record, this Court finds that since the age of revisionist is above 16 years and below 18 years and case heinous in nature (sic), his trial is going on as an adult, therefore, in view of the legal position applicable to the present case, in case of conviction of the revisionist, he can be sentenced for more than three years except life or death. In case, the revisionist is released on ball, there is a strong possibility of his being in danger morally, physically or psychologically and he may again get (sic) involved in criminal activities. In the matter of bail of juvenile, the Court has to see literally through a prism having three angles, i.e. firstly, the angle of welfare and betterment of the child itself, secondly, the demands of justice to the victim and her family and thirdly, the concerns of society at large. Under the facts and circumstances of the case, in case revisionist is released on bail, then his release would defeat the ends of justice. Further, it is a double murder case and Rs. 27,500/ (rupees twenty seven thousand five hundred) has also been recovered from the possession of the revisionist at the time of his arrest. Weapon of assault Basuli has also been recovered on the pointing out of the revisionist.

9. In view of the above, the findings recorded by the learned Courts below are not erroneous and cannot be said to be unsustainable. The aforesaid impugned orders are not liable to be interfered with, which are wholly impeccable.”

4. It is to be noted here that in the present case, the Appellant was declared a juvenile by the Juvenile Justice Board, Agra (hereinafter, ‘JJB’), vide order dated 23.06.2023. Relevant portion of the order reads as follows –

“After the above investigation, it is found that the child has passed class 10. According to the educational records filed by his guardian, his date of birth is recorded as 12.07.2005. The child has passed high school in the year 2021 from Shrimati Shanti Devi Inter College Gangaura Fatehabad Agra. The date of birth of the child is recorded as 12.07.2005 in the forms of the said school. The date of birth of the child is recorded as 12.07.2005 in the tabulation register of the high school. The date of birth of the child is also recorded as 12.07.2005 in the TC issued by the former school Hazari Lai Parashar Memorial Junior High School Pinahat Agra.

Thus, on the basis of whatever forms have been filed by the juvenile and other forms available on the file, the date of birth of the applicant/juvenile is proved to be 12.07.2005. The date of incident in the case is 02.07.2022. Thus, on the date of the incident, the age of the juvenile is found to be 16 years 11 months 21 days, which is less than 18 years. Accordingly, accepting the application, the juvenile is eligible to be declared a juvenile delinquent who violated the law on the date of the incident.

Order

In the present case, the child is declared a juvenile delinquent in violation of law on the date of the incident.

A copy of the order should be sent to Superintendent, Government Communication Home, Juvenile Agra / Superintendent, District Jail, Agra.”

5. Thereafter, the Appella