The main legal point established in the judgment is that the application for determining juvenility under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 may be filed under Section 64 of the Act read with Rule 98 of the Rules, and such application may not be maintainable after the final disposal of the case.

1. The petitioners have filed this Criminal Revision, under Section 53 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, against the order dated 16.4.2012 passed in Criminal Miscellaneous No.26 of 2011 by the Sessions Judge, Gopalganj, whereby the learned Sessions Judge, Gopalganj, disposed of the aforesaid Criminal Miscellaneous Case, filed on behalf of the petitioners under Section 7-A of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, to make an enquiry and declare them to be juvenile on the date of the commission of the offence, arriving at the conclusion that the application is not maintainable.

2. The brief fact, as appears from the record of the case, is that that the petitioners, who were accused alongwith others in Uchakagaon P.S. Case No.97 of 1984 registered under Sections 302/34 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 25(1-A) and 26 of the Arms Act, faced trial in Sessions Trial No.83 of 1985 in the court of Sessions Judge, Gopalganj, and were convicted and sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life vide Judgment dated 7.3.1987. The petitioners had filed Criminal Appeal (DB) No.104 of 1987 before this Court, which was dismissed on 30.7.1999 and their Special Leave Petition was also dismissed by the Hon’ble Apex Court. Thereafter, the petitioners filed an application under Section 7-A of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, in the court of Sessions Judge, Gopalganj, which was numbered as Criminal Miscellaneous No.26 of 2011, to make an inquiry and declare them to be juvenile on the date of the commission of the offence, i.e., 29.7.1984, on the basis of their age as recorded in their statements on 4.10.1986, under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as 20 years and 19 years respectively and also on the basis of their dates of birth mentioned in their School Leaving Certificate as 5.1.1967 and 17.6.1968. The learned Sessions Judge, Gopalganj, on hearing the matter, disposed of the aforesaid Criminal Miscellaneous Case filed under Section 7-A of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, to make an enquiry and declare them to be juvenile on the date of the commission of the offence, arriving at the conclusion that the application is not maintainable.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioners made submission that in view of the provisions of Section 7-A of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, a petition for determining the juvenility can be filed in any court at any stage even after final disposal of the case. As such, the learned Sessions Judge, Gopalganj, while disposing of the aforesaid Criminal Miscellaneous Case, has committed error holding that the petition of the petitioners regarding claim of juvenility is not maintainable.

4. On the other hand, learned A.P.P. for the State argued that Section 7-A of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, relates to the Procedure to be followed when claim of juvenility is raised before any Court at any stage. It has further been submitted that admittedly, the conviction and the sentence of the petitioners have already been affirmed even by the Hon’ble Apex Court, so the learned Sessions Judge, Gopalganj, has rightly disposed of the aforesaid Criminal Miscellaneous Case, regarding claim of juvenility, holding that the same is not maintainable.

5. In order to appreciate the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioners, it is necessary to refer the provisions of Sections 7-A and 64 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and Rule 98 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007, which are read as under:

“7-A. Procedure to be followed when claim of juvenility is raised before any Court.-(1) Whenever a claim of juvenility is raised before any Court or a Court is of the opinion that an accused person was a juvenile on the date of commission of the offence, th