IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Judgment reserved on : 23.12.2025 Judgment pronounced on : 17.04.2026 + CRL.REV.P. 564/2023 & CRL.M.A. 13482/2023 MASTER M .....Petitioner versus STATE OF NCT OF DELHI .....Respondent Advocates who appeared in this case:

For the Applicant :Mr. Hrishikesh Baruah, Mr. Kumar Kshitij, Ms. Pragya Agarwal, Mr. Utkarsh Dwivedi, Ms. Nishtha Sacha & Mr. Yashashwy Ghosh, Advs.

For the Respondent : Mr. Sunil Kumar Gautam, APP for the State.

SI Prabash, PS- DIV/ North Mr. Shri Singh & Ms. Arunima Nair, Advs.

for victim. CORAM HON’BLE MR JUSTICE AMIT MAHAJAN

J U D G M E N T

1. The present criminal revision petition has been filed under Section 102 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (‘JJ Act’), assailing the order dated 18.03.2023, passed by the learned Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board-III, Delhi, whereby the Board proceeded to frame notice/charges against the Petitioner/Master M, a Child in Conflict with Law (‘CCL’), for the offence punishable under Section 304 Part-II of the Indian Penal Code, 1960 (‘IPC’), along with offences punishable under Sections 3, 4 read with Section 181 and Sections 134 and 187 under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (‘MV Act’). The Petitioner/CCL has also challenged the Notice dated 23.03.2023 issued under Section 251 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (‘CrPC’).

QUINTESSENTIAL FACETS GOVERNING THE PRESENT ISSUE: -

2. Succinctly stated, the case of the prosecution originates from a PCR call received via DD No. 28A on 04.04.2016 at about 8:55 PM, informing the police that a person had been found injured due to an accident near Shyam Nath Marg, Civil Lines, Delhi. On receipt of the said information, the officers reached the spot, where a Mercedes Benz car bearing registration no. DL-2 FCM-3000 C-200 compressor was found stationed, in an accidental condition, near the red light. Upon inquiry, it was revealed that the injured person, later identified as Siddharth Sharma, had already been shifted to Sant Parmanand Hospital. At that stage, the injured was declared unfit for statement. No eye-witness was stated to have been found either at the spot or in the hospital at that time.

3. Consequently, FIR No. 118/2016 dated 04.04.2016 was registered at Police Station Civil Lines, initially for the offences punishable under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC against the Petitioner/CCL.

4. The victim, however, succumbed to his injuries on 05.04.2016 and thus, DD No. 3A was recorded and section 337 was substituted with section 304A of the IPC.

5. During the course of investigation, on 05.04.2016, three eyewitnesses, namely Mr. Girish Kumar, Mr. Pradeep Satia and Mr. Narender Singh were examined by the IO and in their statements under section 161 of the CrPC, they stated that at 08.45 PM, offending Mercedes car bearing No. DL 2F CM 3000, came in a very high speed and hit the deceased/ Shiddharth Sharma, who was crossing the road and consequently that person fell on the road after bouncing 15/20 feet in the Air and sustained injuries. After the accident 6-7 boys, aged about 15-18 years, de-boarded the car and ran away from the spot. Thereafter, they shifted the injured to Sant Parmanand Nand Hospital. 6. It is alleged that during the inquiry, the owner of the vehicle was traced and found to be Mr. Manoj Agarwal i.e. the father of the Petitioner/CCL herein. Though one Kapil Sharma, the driver employed with Mr. Manoj Agarwal, initially claimed to be driving the offending vehicle on the date of the accident, however, during interrogation, it was revealed that the vehicle was allegedly being driven by the present Petitioner/CCL, who was 17 years, 11 months and 26 days old at the time of the incident.

7. It is alleged that on 08.04.2016, since it emerged that the CCL has a history of traffic violations and his father also did not stop the Petitioner/CCL from driving the car, Section 109 of the IPC was added. On the basis of the CCTV footage obtained, which dem