IMPORTANT POINT:
Juvenile is not entitled to maintain application u/s 438 CrPC in absence of specific provisions in the Act, 2000.

JUDGMENT

Sanjay K. Agrawal, J.—The short question falling for consideration is whether applicant/juvenile can maintain application for grant of anticipatory bail under Section 438 of Cr.P.C.

2. Invoking jurisdiction of this court under Section 438 of Cr.P.C., the applicant herein has filed this application for grant of anticipatory bail as he is apprehending his arrest in connection with Crime No.195/2014 registered at Police Station, Baikunthpur, District Korea, for the offence punishable under Section 376 of IPC and Section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

3. At the outset, learned counsel appearing for the State would submit that applicant herein is admittedly a juvenile within the meaning of Section 2(k) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (for short, the Act, 2000), and therefore, the provisions contained in Section 438 of Cr.P.C. would not be applicable in the present case and remedy available to the applicant would be to appear before the Juvenile Justice Board (for short, the Board) and to claim bail under Section 12 of the Act, 2000, and as such, application under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. preferred by the juvenile/applicant deserves to be rejected.

4. Replying the contention so made, learned counsel appearing for the applicant would submit that in view of provisions contained in Section 12 of the Act, 2000, the applicant has right to get benefit of anticipatory bail because he has been falsely implicated in the case and by virtue of Section 6(2) of the Act, 2000, the powers conferred on the Board by or under this Act may also be exercised by the High Court and the court of Session also.

5. In order to consider the point raised at the bar, it would be proper to notice Section 6(1) and 6(2) of the Act, 2000, which reads as under :

“6. Powers of Juvenile Justice Board.—1. Where a Board has been constituted for any district, such Board shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force but save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, have power to deal exclusively with all proceedings under this Act relating to juvenile in conflict with law.

2. The powers conferred on the Board by or under this Act may also be exercised by the High Court and the court of Session, when the proceedings comes before them in appeal, revision or otherwise.”

6. A plain and careful perusal of Section 6(2) of the Act, 2000, would show that the powers conferred on the Board by or under this Act may also be exercised by the High Court when the proceedings comes before them in appeal, revision or otherwise. At this stage, it would be proper to notice the provisions of bail for juvenile as contained in Section 12 of the Act, which reads as under :

“12. Bail of juvenile.—1. When any person accused of a bailable or non-bailable offence, and apparently a juvenile, is arrested or detained or appears or is brought before a board, such person shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) or in any other law for the time being in force, be released on bail with or without surety or placed under the supervision of a Probation Officer or under the care of any fit institution or fit person but he shall not be so released if there appear reasonable grounds for believing that the release is likely to bring him into association with any known criminal or expose him to moral, physical or psychological danger or that his released would defeat the ends of justice.

2. When such person having been arrested is not released on bail under subsection (1) by the officer incharge of the police station, such officer shall cause him to be kept only in an observation home in the prescribed manner until he can be brought before a Board.

3. When such person is not released on bail under subsection (1) by the Board it shall, instead of committing him to prison, make an order sending him to an observation home or a place of safety for such per