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2026 Supreme(SC) 802

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
J.B. PARDIWALA, UJJAL BHUYAN, JJ.
X – Appellant
Versus
State of Bihar & Anr. – Respondents
Criminal Appeal No. 3299 of 2026 [Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 5633 of 2026]
Decided On : 21-07-2026

Advocates appeared:
For the Petitioner(s): Mr. Sachin Patil, Adv. Mr. Kailas Bajirao Autade, AOR Mr. Amaresh Narayan Singh, Adv. Mr. Muhammed Risvi, Adv. Mr. Shobhit Dwivedi, Adv. Mr. Shivkumar Jangwad, Adv. Mr. Shoaib Akhter, Adv. Ms. Vishnu Priya, Adv. Mr. Sadanand, Adv.
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Samir Ali Khan, AOR Mr. Pranjal Sharma, Adv. Mr. Kashif Irshad Khan, Adv. Mr. Prashant Bhardwaj, AOR Mr. Rishi Bharadwaj, Adv. Mr. Aditya Pratap Singh, Adv. Mr. Rahul Mehalwal, Adv.

Offences carrying a minimum punishment of life imprisonment are classified as heinous. The requirement for expert assistance in appellate review of preliminary assessments is discretionary, and the Board must apply its independent mind to all collected materials, including social reports, rather than blindly following expert opinions.

Headnote:(A) Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 - Sections 2(33) and 2(54) - Indian Penal Code, 1860 - Section 302 - Classification of offences - Heinous vs. Serious - Offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life qualifies as a heinous offence because life imprisonment is the minimum punishment prescribed by law, precluding any lesser sentence. (Paras 32-33, 41)

(B) Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 - Section 101(2) - Appeal - Preliminary assessment - Expert assistance - Whether 'may' in section 101(2) is mandatory - The term 'may' denotes a discretionary power rather than a mandatory requirement; the Appellate Court is not obliged to seek fresh expert assistance in every case but should exercise discretion based on the necessity of the case and the totality of available material. (Paras 54-56)

(C) Preliminary Assessment - Section 15 - Independent application of mind - The Board is not bound by the recommendations of experts and must independently evaluate the mental/physical capacity, and social background of the child-in-conflict-with-law based on the totality of evidence, including social and investigation reports, rather than relying solely on expert testimony. (Paras 79-80, 84)

Facts of the case:
A juvenile was declared to be in conflict with law in relation to offences punishable under sections 302 and 201 read with section 34. Following a preliminary assessment under the Act, the Board faced a split opinion regarding the trial status of the juvenile (adult vs. juvenile trial). The Appellate Court and the High Court affirmed that the juvenile should be tried as an adult. The appellant challenged the procedure, arguing that the offence was a 'serious' rather than 'heinous' offence and that the failure to seek expert assistance during the appellate stage violated statutory mandates.

Findings of Court:
The Court concluded that Section 302 of the penal code does not permit a sentence below life imprisonment, thus categorizing it as a 'heinous offence' under the statute. Furthermore, the Court clarified that appellate scrutiny over preliminary assessments does not require mechanical fresh expert evaluation, as the Appellate Court is proficient in reviewing existing material. The Board is under a duty to apply its independent judicial mind to all reports (social, background, and expert) during the assessment, which the Court upheld as the correct standard.

Issues: 1. Whether an offence punishable with death or life imprisonment is a 'serious' or 'heinous' offence under the classification framework. 2. Whether the consultation of experts under Section 101(2) of the Act is mandatory for the Appellate Court. 3. The scope and methodology of the preliminary assessment by the Board.

Ratio Decidendi: The statute links the classification of offences to minimum punishment; where law mandates a minimum of life imprisonment, the offence is heinous by category. Appellate discretion regarding expert evidence serves as a tool for assessment, not a procedural bottleneck, provided the court reviews the material on record properly. Preliminary assessment requires an integrated analysis of all psychological and social reports rather than an exclusive reliance on one expert opinion.

Result: Appeal dismissed.

Table of Content
1. grant of leave and background of the appeal proceedings. (Para 1 , 2 , 3)
2. factual history of the criminal case and judicial proceedings. (Para 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13)
3. competing arguments regarding offense categorization and procedural adherence. (Para 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20)
4. section 302 ipc offenses are classified as 'heinous offenses' under the jj act. (Para 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41)
5. appellate court expert assistance under section 101(2) is discretionary, not mandatory. (Para 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59)
6. preliminary assessment mandates a holistic evaluation of all available statutory records. (Para 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84)
7. summary of legal principles established and dismissal of the appeal. (Para 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89)

JUDGMENT : :

J.B. PARDIWALA, J.

For the convenience of exposition, this judgment is divided into the following parts:-

INDEX
I.	FACTUAL MATRIX
II.	SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF APPELLANT
III.	SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENTS
IV.	ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION
V.	ANALYSIS
A.	Classification of Offences
B.	Section 101(2) of the JJ Act – Mandatory or Directory
C.	Considerations before the Board while carrying out preliminary assessment
a.	Social Background Report
b.	Social Investigation Report
c.	Statement of Witness
d.	Report of the Expert
VI.	CONCLUSION

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal arises from the judgment and order passed by the High Court of Judicature at Patna dated 24.07.2025 in Criminal Revision No. 300 of 2024 (hereinafter, “the impugned judgment”) by which the High Court dismissed the revision application preferred by the appellant herein and thereby affirmed the judgment and order passed by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Chapra in Crl. Juvenile Appeal No. 29 of 2022 holding that there is a need for trial of the appellant as an adult, and accordingly directing the Juvenile Justice Board (hereinafter, “the JJ Board”) to transfer the trial of the Juvenile Case No. 1838 of 2022 to the Children’s Court.

3. In conformity with the mandate of Section 74 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (for short, “the JJ Act”), the identity of the appellant has been concealed throughout the judgment.

I. FACTUAL MATRIX

4. It appears from the materials on record that the complainant, mother of the deceased, filed a complaint with the police stating that on 01.05.2022 at about 10 AM, the deceased had gone outside with the appellant and one another boy in a vehicle. Thereafter, at about noon, the deceased’s mobile phone was found to be switched off. The complainant started searching for her son but he was not found anywhere. On 02.05.2022, at about 7 AM, the complainant was informed by some cowherds that a dead body of a boy had been found in the fields. When the complainant reached the spot, she identified the dead body to be that of her son. She named the appellant and the other boy as prime suspects.

5. In such circumstances, the said complaint was reduced in the form of a First Information Report and was numbered as Cr. No. 72 of 2022 with the Kopa Police Station for the offence under Sections 302, 201 read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, respectively (for short, “the IPC”).

6. Upon completion of the investigation and filing of the chargesheet against the appellant and one another juvenile for the offences enumerated above, the appellant raised the plea of juvenility as per Section 9 of the JJ Act. Thereafter, Magistrate forwarded the child along with the record of the proceedings to the Board.

7. The jurisdictional Board determined the age of the appellant t

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2026 Supreme(SC) 802

SUPREME COURT OF INDIAJ.B. PARDIWALA, UJJAL BHUYAN, JJ.X – AppellantVersusState of Bihar & Anr. – RespondentsCriminal Appeal No. 3299 of 2026 [Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 5633 of 2026]Decided On : 21-07-2026

Cases Referred (7)

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
J.B. PARDIWALA, UJJAL BHUYAN, JJ.
X – Appellant
Versus
State of Bihar & Anr. – Respondents
Criminal Appeal No. 3299 of 2026 [Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 5633 of 2026]
Decided On : 21-07-2026