Bail for juveniles under the Juvenile Justice Act is mandatory unless there are justifiable grounds for denial.

CAV JUDGMENT

Date : 04-12-2024

The present criminal revision petition has been preferred by the Petitioner against the impugned judgment dated 01.12.2023 passed by learned Additional District and Sessions Judge Ist-cum-Special Children Court in Criminal Appeal No. 165 of 2023 whereby the appeal filed by the petitioner was dismissed upholding the order dated 20.06.2023 passed by Juvenile Justice Board, Patna City in JJB Case No. 78 of 2023 arising out of Khajekala P.S. Case No. 223 of 2022 registered for the offences punishable under Sections 302 , 120(B) read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code , Section 27 of the Arms Act and Section 3(i)(r)/3(i)(s)/3(2)(va) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act, 1958 by which learned Juvenile Justice Board, Patna City, rejecting the bail petition of the Petitioner.

2. The prosecution case as emerging from the fardbeyan of the Informant recorded by S.I., Anil Prasad on 19.07.2022 at 19:35 o’clock at Rajeshwar Hospital, Kankarbag, Patna is that on 19.07.2022 at 2:45 PM, her son Rahul Kumar received a phone call on his mobile bearing no. 9128578424 and told the Informant that Golu Kumar was calling him and he was coming back. After some time, Anil Prasad, the brother of the informant sent a message through Pappu Parasad that Rahul Kumar is lying unconscious near Banke Rai Kucha turning. Thereafter, the Informant with her daughter, Neha reached there and saw that her son Rahul Kumar was lying unconscious and he was bleeding from his back. Thereafter, she sent her son to NMCH with the help of local people wherefrom, he was referred to Rajeshwar Hospital for better treatment where he died in the course of the treatment. The informant has claimed that under conspiracy, her son was called by Amit Kumar Pandey @ Golu and Lallu Kumar (Petitioner herein) and was shot dead by them with the help of other friends.

3. Social Investigation Report has been also received from Probation Officer, Patna City vide his letter bearing No. 133 dated 08.04.2023 as per which, neither parents, nor any of his family members are suffering from any mental illness. All of them are healthy. Father of the petitioner has been shown as educated upto Intermediate, mother has been shown as illiterate and she is house wife and sister of the petitioner is a student of Intermediate and petitioner has friendly relationship with his parents and sister and no family member has any criminal antecedents and the petitioner is also respectful to his family members and obedient to his elders. Petitioner is also a Matriculate. Most of the friends of the petitioner are illiterate/literate and probably of criminal nature and the conduct of the petitioner in the society is not satisfactory. The petitioner has been also shown as not having any tendency to flee away from his house and his physical and mental condition is normal. It has been also shown in the Social Investigation Report that as per statement of sister of the victim and some other local people, the deceased had love affairs with sister of one Shalu and on account of this, Shalu with the help of petitioner and Golu Sharma got the deceased killed. There was pressure being exerted by Shalu on the father of the deceased to withdraw the case, failing which he was threatened that he might be killed. After 6 months of death of the deceased, father of the deceased Devi Chaudhary was killed by Shalu. It is also commented by the Probation Officer that after inquiry, he found that for want of proper upbringing and nature of the petitioner as well as the company of friends being of doubtful criminal nature, the offence has been committed by the petitioner.

4. Learned Juvenile Ju