The court upheld conviction for juvenile offenders while modifying sentencing to align with juvenile justice provisions.

Virender Singh, Judge (oral)

Petitioners have preferred the present criminal revision, against the judgment, dated 30^th April, 2013, passed by the Court of learned Additional Sessions Judge- I, Kangra at Dharamshala, District Kangra, H.P. (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Appellate Court’), in

1 Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes.

Criminal Appeal No. 29-B/2008, titled as Keshav Joshi &

Another versus State of Himachal Pradesh.

2. Vide judgment, dated 30^th April, 2013, the learned Appellate Court has dismissed the appeal preferred by the petitioners, against the judgment of conviction, dated 23^rd May, 2008 and order of sentence, dated 24^th May, 2008, passed by tthe Court of learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Baijnath, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh (hereinafter referred to as the ‘trial Court’) in Criminal Case No.21-II/2007, titled as State versus Keshav Joshi & Another.

3h. The learned trial Court, vide judgment of gconviction and order of sentence, as referred to above, has iconvicted petitioner Keshav Joshi for the offences punishable under Section s 279 , 337 and 338 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as ‘IPC’), and Section 181 of the Motor Vehicles Act (hereinafter referred to as ‘the M.V. Act’) and petitioner Bal Krishan has been convicted, for the offence punishable under Section 180 of the M.V. Act, and sentenced them, as under:-

1. Keshav Joshi (i) For the offence punishable under Section 279 IPC, he has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months and to pay a fine of ₹ 1000/-. In default of payment of fine, he has been directed to further undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one month;

(ii) For the offence punishabfle under Section 337 IPC, the convict has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one month and to pay a fine of ₹ 500/-. In default of payment of fine, he has been directed to further undergo simple imprisonment for a period of fifteen days;

(iii) For the offence punishable under Section 338 IPC, he has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one year and to pay a fine of ₹ 1000/-.In default of payment of fine, he has been directed to further undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months; and For the offence punishable under Section 181 g M.V.Act, he has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of three months and to pay a fine of ₹ 500/-. In default of payment of fine, he has been directed to further undergo simple imprisonment for a period of fifteen days.

The learned trial Court has directed the sentences, so awarded, to run concurrently.

2. Bal Krishan For the offence punishable under Section 180 M.V. Act, he has been sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for a period of one month and to pay a fine of ₹ 500/-. In default of payment of fine, he has been directed to further undergo simple imprisonment for a period of fifteen days.

4. During the pendency of the criminal revision, before this Court, application bearing Cr.MP No.2422 of 2024, was moved, which was doecided on 16.10.2024, by holding that at the time of commission of the alleged crime, petitioner No.1 was juvenile. Order dated 16.10.2024, is reproduced as under:-

During the pendency of the present revision, the applicants/petitioners filed an application to Cplace on record the date of birth certificate of petitioner No.1 to show that petitioner No.1 was juvenile on the date of the commission of the offence and his date of birth is 24.08.1989.

2. The State has filed a reply/status report asserting that the date of birth of petitioner No.1 was not found registered in the record of Gram Panchayat and the authenticity of the date of birth recorded in the matriculation certificate was verified from H.P. Board of School Education. As per the record maintained by the Board of School Education, petitioner No.1 was born on 24.08.1989. The documents in support of the status report have