Gravity Of Offence Irrelevant While Considering Bail Plea Of Juvenile: Allahabad High Court

The accused juvenile had previously been denied bail by lower courts but sought relief from the High Court. A teenager, 16 years old at the time of the incident was involved in several criminal offenses, including being part of an unlawful assembly, kidnapping, and murder.

A Bench of Justice Manish Kumar Nigam said, “Gravity of the offence has not been mentioned as a ground to reject the bail. It is not a relevant factor while considering to grant bail to the juvenile. It has been so held by this Court in Shiv Kumar alias Sadhu Vs. State of U.P. 2010 (68) ACC 616(LB). It has been consistently followed in subsequent decisions of this court.”

Advocate Radhey Shyam Shukla appeared for the Revisionist.

Citing the case law and provisions of the JJ Act, the Court highlighted that bail should ordinarily be granted to juvenile offenders unless specific circumstances, as outlined in Section 12 of the Act, are met. These circumstances include potential association with known criminals, exposure to danger, or obstruction of justice.

The Court noted, “Thus, it remains largely undisputed that the applicant - was a juvenile on the date of occurrence; does not appear to be prone to criminal proclivity or criminal psychology, in light of the observations of the D.P.O; does not have a criminal history; has been in confinement for an unduly long period of time, in as much as the trial has not concluded within time frame contemplated by the Act.”

The High Court, after considering various factors decided to grant bail. The Court added, “there does not appear to exist any factor or circumstance mentioned in section 12 of the Act as may dis entitle the applicant to grant of bail, at this stage. The mother undertakes to address the statutory concerns expressed in section 12 of the Act, as to the safety and well being of the applicant, upon his release.”

As a condition of bail, the Court mandated that the juvenile, through his guardian, provide an undertaking promising not to seek adjournments during the trial. Failure to comply with this condition would be considered an abuse of bail, subject to appropriate legal consequences. Additionally, the Court warned that non-appearance during trial proceedings could result in further legal action under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

Cause Title: X- Juvenile v. State of U.P. & Anr., [2024:AHC:101066]

Appearance:

Revisionist: Advocates Radhey Shyam Shukla and Vipul Shukla