Hon’ble V.K. Shukla, J.—Kidnapping for ransom of a 3 year old child and his recovery in a police raid led to a trial by the Sessions Court in which the appellant has been convicted by the judgement dated 15.4.2013.

2. In this appeal, an issue of juvenility has been raised in the background that the incident in which the appellant is involved is of 15th/16th May 2003. The appellant claims that his date of birth recorded in the High School Examination (Matriculation) record is 15th October 1986 and as such on the date of the incident, he had not attained the age of 18 years, consequently, he was entitled to the benefit of being a juvenile as contemplated under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 read with the the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules 2007 framed thereunder.

3. What appears from the record is that the appellant had moved an application for declaring him to be juvenile before the concerned Court in Session Trial No. 188 of 2004. The prosecution had moved an application for conducting a joint trial of this case alongwith the Session Trial No. 56-A of 2004 and 188-A of 2004.

4. The application moved for declaring t