1. P.N. Bakshi, J. Smt. Phoolmati was charged for an offence under S. 302 I. P. C. for having committed the murder of her husband at 11 p. m. on 2nd November, 1974. She pleaded not guilty. Witnesses were examined in support of the prosecution case. In her statement, the accused gave out that she was 15 years of age. 14-6-76 was fixed for defence evidence. The State Counsel moved an application in court for making inquiries with regard to her age with the intention of scrutinizing whether U. P. Children Act, 1952, would be applicable to the present case. The statements of Dr.B. K. Sharma, CMO and Dr. R. Prakash Radiologist, who examined the accused, were recorded. In view of the medical evidence, it appears to be clear that the age of the accused on the date of her examination i.e. 16-7-76 was about 17 years. There can be a difference of about 5-6 months on either side. The occurrence had taken place on 2-11-74, on which date the accused was arrested. Thus, according to the evidence on the record the age of the accused on the date of her arrest would be somewhere about 15 years.

2. UNDER the U. P. Children Act, 1952, Sec. 2 Clause (4), Child means "a person under the age of