JUDGMENT :

Vijay Bishnoi, CJ.

1. Heard Mr. B. Bora, learned counsel appearing for the applicant. Also heard Ms. B. Bhuyan, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Assam, appearing for the respondent State of Assam.

2. The matter is placed before us to answer the following question referred to us by the learned Single Judge in this Anticipatory Bail Application.

“Whether an application under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 is maintainable by a juvenile before he is actually apprehended on accusation of having committed a non-bailable office?”

3. The events leading to place this Reference before this Court are as under:

A learned Single Judge of this Court, in the case of Kara Taling vs. The State of Arunachal Pradesh, reported in 2022 (3) GLT 828 (Anticipatory Bail Application No. 40/2022, decided on 27.04.2022) , has dismissed the Anticipatory Bail Application filed on behalf of a juvenile, while passing the following order:

“7. Having heard the submissions of learned Advocates of both side, I have carefully gone through the petition and the documents placed on record and also perused the case laws referred by them. Admittedly, there is no decided case law of Hon’ble Su