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2013 Supreme(All) 1192

ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT
BEFORE : KARUNA NAND BAJPAYEE, J.
VIVEK CHANDRA BHASKAR AND ANOTHER ....Petitioners
Versus
STATE OF U.P. AND OTHERS ....Respondents
(Criminal Misc. Writ Petition No. 2155 of 2013, decided on 25th April, 2013)

Advocates Appeared:
Santosh Singh for the Petitioners; A.G.A. and A.K. Maurya for the Respondents.

Headnote:(Indian) Penal Code, 1860—Sections 363 and 366—Abduction—Determination of age—Medical examination—High School Certificate—Conflict therein—Girl was medically examined and her age was found to be about 19 years and above 18 years—Before JM she expressed her unwillingness to go alongwith her father—Falsity of oral/documentary evidence regarding age can be proved by medical science in any cases—Doctor categorically opined that girl is above 18 years of age—Continuation of girl's detention in Nari Niketan is not justified. [Paras 3, 9 and 14]

       

JUDGMENT

Hon’ble Karuna Nand Bajpayee, J.—This Criminal Writ Petition has been filed on behalf of the petitioners seeking the direction in the nature of certiorari for quashing the impugned order dated 1.2.2013 and 4.2.2013 in application No. 12 of 2013 and also the subsequent order dated 6.2.2013 passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate Chandauli in case Crime No. 02 of 2013 State v. Vivek and also praying for a direction to the respondent No. 5 to hand over the girl Sonal petitioner No. 2 to petitioner No. 1 who claims himself to be the husband of girl Sonal.

2. In brief the facts giving rise to the present controversy are like this :

3. An FIR was lodged against the petitioner Vivek alongwith some other co-accused under Sections 363 and 366 IPC. It was alleged in the FIR that one girl Km. Sonal had been enticed away by the petitioner No. 1 of this case. It seems that the petitioner approached this Court in order to get the FIR quashed. The Division Bench after hearing the matter passed an order on 17.1.2013. A number of directions were given vide this order. It was also directed that the girl Sonal shall be produced before the concerned Judicial Magistrate who shall get her medically examined in order to ascertain her age. It was further ordered that depending upon the findings arrived regarding her age some other consequential orders including appropriate orders regarding her custody shall be passed by the J.M. It appears that as a follow up action, the concerned J.M. heard the matter and got Sonal medically examined according to which her age was found to be about 19 years and above 18 years. It transpires from the record that during the proceedings that took place before the J.M. the father of the girl produced the high school certificate of the girl indicating her date of birth to be 25.5.96. Reckoning her age on the basis of the high school certificate she was estimated to be a minor by the J.M.

4. The J.M. has also recorded her statement in which she expressed her un-willingness to go alongwith her father. In fact she informed the Court to have willingly contracted marriage with petitioner No. 1 and denied all the allegations of coercion exercised against her. In the light of the finding of minority arrived at by the J.M. and in view of her complete disinclination to go alongwith her father, the J.M. concerned thought it fit to send her to Nari Niketan.

5. The respondent No. 4 who is father of the girl is being represented by his counsel and has also filed his counter-affidavit asserting the minority of the girl and also justifying the preference given to the certificate by the lower Court. According to him he is the lawful guardian of his minor daughter and as such she ought to have been given back to him.

6. I have heard both the sides and perused the record.

7. It has been emphasised by the counsel for the petitioner that though the assessment through medical examination is necessarily a flexible estimation of age and the medical science has not perfected itself to the extent that it may determine the age of any one with precise certitude. But when there is an estimate of age done by radiological examination it includes a maximum margin of error or margin of flexibility both ways. In different cases the Hon’ble Apex Court as well as this Court has accepted this margin of error. At times it has been accepted as six months both ways and at times one year both ways. Two year margin of error is the maximum that can be attributed to the age determined by the Doctor through medical examination. According to the counsel if the age of the victim is assessed to be 19 years according to the medical examination, she could be 18 and a half years old or 19 and half years old. This shall be so when we take the margin of flexibility to be six months both ways. Similarly if we take the margin of one year then she could be 18 years or 20 years of age or any where in between the two. According to the counsel even if we take the high














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