JUDGMENT :

1. RULE. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor waives service of notice of Rule on behalf of the respondent – State.

2. This Revision Application has been filed by a juvenile, through his mother, for regular bail in connection with the First Information Report being C.R. No.11199016200084 of 2020 registered with Dahej Police Station, District Bharuch for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 201 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code.

3. The facts as emerging from the First Information Report are as under :-

On 24.02.2020, the complainant’s wife had gone to Village Denva to find a suitable match for her niece and returned home at about 4.30 pm in the evening. At about 5.30 pm, the complainant’s son came back from work and went to deliver milk in the Colony on his Motorcycle bearing Registration No.GJ-16-BA-4144. The son did not return until half an hour and therefore, they tried to contact him on his mobile. However, though the mobile was ringing there was no answer. Therefore, with a group of people a search was made for the complainant’s son. The next day, i.e. on 25.02.2020 night, the motorcycle driven by the complainant’s son was located. However, the complainant’s son was not found. Therefore, a missing person report was filed with Dahej Police Station and the search by the relatives continued. Thereafter, the complainant alongwith his wife, his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law went to search near the lake and found one slipper of the missing person on the bank and another slipper nearby. One dead body was also found floating in the lake which was taken out. The body bore bruise marks around the neck and the hands were tied at the backside with the T-shirt that the deceased had put on. The body was sent to the Bharuch Civil Hospital. It stated in the First Information Report that thus some unknown persons in the above manner had caused the death of the complainant’s son – Ajay, aged 19 years.

4. Learned Advocate for the applicant Mr. Vaibhav N. Sheth submits that after conclusion of the investigation by the police, collection of Post Mortem Report etc, the investigation officer laid the chargesheet before the Court below and the name of the applicant was disclosed from the statement of the co-accused and they were chargesheeted. The alleged role attributed to the applicant is that of having caught the deceased when the deceased tried to save himself and the co-accused then throttled the deceased to death and threw the body of the deceased into the lake. It is further submitted that there is no direct or indirect evidence qua the applicant except the statement of the co-accused and it is a case of circumstantial evidence. It is also submitted that the applicant had no motive to do away with the deceased, rather it was the co-accused who held a grudge since the deceased loved the sister-Anjanaben and the same was disliked by the co-accused.

4.1. Learned Advocate for the applicant further submits that at the time of commission of offence, the applicant was a juvenile and was kept in the Observation Home, Baroda and when he turned major, the applicant was taken into judicial custody. The applicant initially approached the Juvenile Justice Board (hereinafter referred to in short as ‘the Board’) seeking regular bail which was rejected. Therefore, the applicant approached the Superior Court which also rejected the application for bail. Thereafter, the applicant approached this Court by way of Criminal Miscellaneous Application No.12200 of 2020 which was rejected on 13.01.2020, mainly on the ground of involvement of the child in heinous crime. The applicant also preferred another successive application for grant of bail before this Court and during the pendency of the same, the Juvenile Justice Board passed an order under Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice Act on 20.01.2021 in Juvenile Case No.29/2020 sending the entire case for trial before the Children’s Court by considering preliminary investigation report submitted