Court No. - 91

Case :- CRIMINAL REVISION No. - 3284 of 2022

Revisionist :- Smt. Savitri And Another

Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others

Counsel for Revisionist :- Ram Singh,Amit Kumar Dixit

Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.

Hon'ble Mrs. Jyotsna Sharma,J.

1. Heard Sri Ram Singh, learned counsel for the revisionists and

learned A.G.A. for the State.

2. Perused the record.

3. This criminal revision has been filed challenging the order

dated 15.03.2022 passed by Additional Session Judge, Banda as

well as the order dated 27.08.2021 passed by the opposite party

no.3- Child Welfare Committee, Banda passed in Case No.484

of 2021 arising out of Case Crime No.293 of 2021, under

sections- 363, 366 I.P.C. by which the victim was detained in

Rajkiya Balgrih (Balika), Khuldabad, Prayagraj till further

orders.

4. The relevant facts giving rise to this criminal revision are as

below:-

A minor daughter of the informant was enticed away by the

present revisionist-juvenile on 02.11.2020 at about 2:00 in the

afternoon; the F.I.R. was lodged by father of the victim on next

day at about 13:15 hours; she stated in her statements recorded

under sections 161 and 164 Cr.P.C. that she, on her own

volition, went away with the person named in the F.I.R. and

they got married as per customs of Arya Samaj and stayed

together as husband and wife in Chitrakoot; thereafter, she went

to her in-laws place on 25.08.2021; the papers on record show

that she refused her medical examination and she reiterated the

same story before the Medical Officer; in her statement

recorded under section 164 Cr.P.C., she categorically stated that

her parents were pressurizing her to marry an aged person,

therefore, she was compelled to leave her parent's house; she

accompanied the juvenile and had been living with him for the

last nine months after getting married to him in a temple; she

also stated that after the F.I.R. was lodged by her parents, she is

being unnecessarily harassed by the police and that she does not

desire to live with her parents and instead she will like to stay

with her husband.

5. From the papers on record, it appears that finding the victim

a minor, she was ordered to be produced before the Child

Welfare Committee, Banda; the order was passed by the Child

Welfare Committee on 27.08.2021 treating her as a 'child in

need of care and protection' and ordering her to be lodged in

Rajkiya Balgrih (Balika), Khuldabad, Prayagraj till further

orders. The appeal/release application was filed in the court of

Additional Sessions Judge, Banda but the same was dismissed.

6. The orders, first one passed by the Child Welfare Committee,

Banda and the second one by Additional Sessions Judge, Banda

are now under challenge inter-alia on the grounds; Firstly, that

the victim is major, hence lawfully she cannot be detained in a

shelter home; Secondly, that she cannot be treated as a child in

need of care and protection. It is contended that she is married

to the applicant and that she is being detained in shelter home

against her wishes; she was found aged above 18 years by the

Medical Board and she, in all of her statements, expressed her

unwillingness to go with her parents and wished to accompany

her husband. However, all the above facts have been ignored by

the Child Welfare Committee as well as the Juvenile Justice

Board. She is being detained in the shelter home without any

good ground.

7. From the impugned order, prima-facie it does not appear that

any inquiry to determine her correct age was ever undertaken.

Moreover, no good reasons have been given for treating her as a

'child in need of care and protection'. Hence, the impugned

orders are not sustainable in the eyes of law.

8. The impugned orders dated 15.03.2022 passed by Additional

Session Judge, Banda as well as the order dated 27.08.2021

passed by the opposite party no.3- Child Welfare Committee,

Banda are hereby set-aside. The matter is remanded to Child

Welfare Committ