IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of Decision: 01.12.2025 Wajid @ Vajid ......Petitioner Versus State of Haryana and another .....Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE KIRTI SINGH Present: Mr. J.S.Hooda, Advocate for the petitioner.

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KIRTI SINGH , J. (ORAL)

CRM-48177-2025 This is an application under Section 5 of the Limitation Act seeking condonation of delay of 11 days in filing the present revision petition.

The application is allowed for the reasons stated therein.

Delay of 11 days in filing the present revision petition is condoned.

CRR No. 3037 of 2025

1. The present revision petition has been preferred against the order dated 20.11.2023 passed by the learned Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board, Palwal, whereby the petitioner-Child in Conflict With Law (for short ‘CCL’) was ordered to be treated as an adult, and the order dated 18.8.2025 passed by the learned Special Court/Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track), POCSO, Palwal whereby the application moved by the petitioner-CCL for sending the case back to the learned Juvenile Justice Board, Palwal, was dismissed.

2. Brief facts of the present case are that respondent No. 2 got Gurpreet Singh recorded his statement before the police alleging that on 09.9.2023, when his

2025.12.10 20:48 minor daughter was going to school, three accused came on a motorcycle and forcibly made her sit on the said motor cycle. Thereafter, she was taken to a dilapidated building, where one of the said accused raped her and other two accused touched her in a bad way. The said persons also threatened to kill her in case she disclosed the said incident to her family members. The statement of the victim was recorded before the Legal Aid Counsel, wherein she stated that all the three accused had raped her. On the basis of said allegations, FIR No. 87 dated 09.8.2023 was registered at Police Station Women, District Palwal. Thereafter, the matter subsequently came up before the Juvenile Justice Board, Palwal (for short ‘JJB’) for consideration. The JJB, Palwal after considering the final report submitted by the prosecution agency, the Social Investigation Report, and the appearance of the CCLs before it on each and every date, opined that the CCLs possess sufficient mental and physical capacity to commit the offence. Further it is also opined the CCLs are also capable to understand the consequences of their act and the offence(s) in question as well as they are well aware of the surrounding circumstances and life in general. Thus, vide impugned order dated 20.11.2023, the JJB came to a conclusion that there is a need for trial of the CCLs by the learned Children’s Court concerned. Accordingly, the matter was referred to the Children’s Court having jurisdiction to try such offence(s). All the three CCLs (including the present petitioner) moved three applications for sending the case back to the Juvenile Justice Board, Palwal after compliance with Section 19(1) of the Juvenile Justice Board (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Vide impugned order dated 18.8.2025 passed by the learned Special Court/Additional Sessions Judge (Fast Track), POCSO, Palwal, the said applications were dismissed.

2025.12.10 20:48 Aggrieved from the same, the petitioner has approached this Court by way of the present revision petition.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner, who is a student aged 18 years, has been falsely implicated in the present case. It is submitted that since the petitioner was a juvenile at the time of the alleged occurrence, therefore he is required to be tried separately by the Juvenile Justice Board. It is further submitted that for accessing the physical and mental capacity of juvenile, the JJB was required to have an idea about the social, mental and physical exposure of the juvenile for declaring him a juvenile and to be tried accordingly. However, the learned JJB concerned has failed to follow the provisions of Section 15 of the Juvenile J