Children's Court Jurisdiction Includes Cases Of Juveniles Aged 16-18 Charged With Heinous Crimes: MP High Court

This clarification arose in response to a criminal revision filed under Section 102 of the Juvenile Justice Act, challenging an order by the Children’s Court. The applicant had argued that he was a minor at the time of the alleged incident, and as such, his case should have been tried by the Juvenile Justice Board, not the Children’s Court. The trial court had dismissed this application, prompting the revision.

A Bench of Justice Vishal Dhagat emphasized that the Children’s Court's role is to be understood in the context of both the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The Court said, "At first glance, the Children’s Court may seem to only address cases where children’s rights have been violated, and the victims are children. However, Section 25 of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 must be read together with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015."

Under Sections 15 and 18 of the Juvenile Justice Act, it is outlined that if the Juvenile Justice Board determines a juvenile between the ages of 16 and 18 has committed a heinous crime, the case must be transferred to the Children’s Court for trial.

Advocate Piyush Bhatnagar appeared for the Applicant and Advocate S.K. Shrivastava appeared for the Respondents.

The applicant’s counsel had argued that, according to the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, the Children’s Court is meant for the speedy trial of offences involving child victims,but does not handle cases where the accused is a juvenile. The counsel contended that since the applicant was a juvenile, the trial should have been conducted by the Juvenile Justice Board.

However, the state counsel defended the trial court’s order, stating that there was no error in the decision. The High Court found that the applicant’s counsel had misunderstood the scope of the Children’s Court. It explained that, as defined in Section 2(20) of the Juvenile Justice Act, the Children’s Court handles cases where a juvenile between the ages of 16 and 18 is charged with a heinous crime, provided that the Juvenile Justice Board has first conducted an inquiry and concluded that the juvenile is to be tried as an adult.

The Court further clarified that after such an inquiry, if the Juvenile Justice Board determines that the juvenile is between 16-18 years of age and has committed a heinous offence, the case must be transferred to the Children’s Court for trial. The Court concluded that the trial court was correct in transferring the case to the Children’s Court after the inquiry by the Juvenile Justice Board.

As a result, the revision was dismissed, and the decision to transfer the case to the Children’s Court was upheld.

Cause Title: Mubarak Khan v. The State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors., [2024:MPHC-JBP:54037]