The main legal point established in the judgment is the application of the Juvenile Justice Act to determine the appellant's age and status, leading to the setting aside of the sentence and his release from custody.

1. The sole appellant has been convicted for the offence under Sections 302 and 201 of the IPC and awarded imprisonment for life and RI for seven years respectively for the said offences by the judgment and order dated 22nd February, 2003 passed by Additional District and Sessions Judge, I (Fast Track), Vaishali at Hajipur in Sessions Trial No. 239 of 1996. Both the sentences have been directed to run concurrently. The appellant was also charged for the offence under Section 376. IPC, but he has been acquitted of the said charge.

2. The prosecution case, as appearing from the fardbeyan (exhibit-5) of the informant Pukar Mahto (PW 2), is to the effect that his niece Sobha Kumari aged about seven years was called by the accused-appellant from the house at about 2 p.m. in the day on the pretext that her mother was calling her to carry fire woods. The victim girl went with him. In the evening when her mother came and searched for the victim then she could not be traced. On the next date in course of search Sukan Paswan and Lakhan Thakur (PW 1) disclosed that in the previous day the victim had gone with the appellant. Several persons of the village including PW 1 participated in the search for the victim girl and the appellant. The appellant could be contacted at about 10 a.m. and on enquiry regarding the victim Sobha Kumari, he initially replied that he new nothing about her, but on repeated queries he disclosed that she is dead and her body was laying in an "arhar field". On the disclosure made by the appellant the dead body of the victim girl was found in the "arhar" field of one Sagar Singh. The villagers brought the dead body from that lonely field to Kali Asthan of the village and began further interrogation of the appellant. The appellant allegedly accepted his crime and admitted that he had hidden the dead body of Sobha Kumari after killing her. The informant clarified that he had no enmity with the appellant and that the appellant had been slightly assaulted by the villagers in course of being apprehended. The informant claimed that the appellant had committed rape against the deceased and also murdered her and then concealed the dead body. On the basis of the fardbeyan (Ext.-5) recorded by Sub-Inspector of Police of Jurawanpur PS on 23.12.1992 a formal FIR was drawn up leading to Jurawanpur P.S. Case No. 65 of 1992 corresponding to G.R. No. 3028 of 1992, under Sections 376, 302 and 201 of the IPC. After investigation police submitted charge-sheet against the sole accused, the appellant. After cognizance the case was committed to the Court of Sessions. The appellant pleaded not guilty to the charges and was therefore put on trial. He has been ultimately convicted and sentenced by the judgment and order under appeal, as noticed earlier.

3. The defence of the accused is of false implication at the instance of Arun Kumar Singh (PW 5) and Ashok Kumar Singh (PW 6). The appellant has examined himself as DW 1 to claim that PWs 5 and 6 are brothers and they have implicated him falsely because he used to work as their labourer and was not paid his wages inspite of demand.

4. The prosecution, in order to prove its case, has examined altogether six witnesses. PW 1 Lakhan Thakur, PW 2 Pukar Mahto (informant), PW 5 Arun Kumar Singh and PW 6 Ashok Kumar Singh arc the material witnesses on the point of victim Sobha Kumari having gone with the appellant on 22.12.1992 and thereafter not seen alive. PW 3 Dr. B.N. Singh was, at the relevant time, posted as Deputy Superintendent, Sadar Hospital, Hajipur and in his presence autopsy was conducted on the dead body of Sobha Kumari by Dr. Amarnath Jha (PW 4), who was then a Civil Assistant Surgeon attached to Sadar Hospital, Hajipur. The post mortem report has been proved as Exhibit-1. According to medical evidence, the deceased had sustained four ante mortem injuries. One was abrasion on the inner side of left thigh. The second injury was also an abrasion on the left lebia majora. Third i