Appeal And Ors vs State And Ors

Heard learned counsel for the petitioners (juveniles- through their legal guardian father of petitioner No.1 i.e. Ranjeet S/o Harishchandra Kharadi

Meena and legal guardian mother of petitioner No.2 Smt. Sharda W/o Surajmal Kalasua Meena) as well as learned Public Prosecutor.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the other co- accused Sikander and Dhan Pal have been granted bail by the Co- ordinate bench of this

Court and the case of the petitioners are similar to them.

The allegation against the petitioners is of offence under Sections 341 and 395 IPC. The bail application filed by the petitioners under Section 12 of the

Act of 2015 before Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board, Dungarpur was rejected vide order dated 06.08.2019. Being aggrieved by the said

order, an appeal was filed by the petitioners before the learned Special Judge, Protection of Child from Sexual Offences Act, Dungarpur and the same

has been dismissed by learned Appellate Court vide impugned order dated 30.08.2019.

Being aggrieved of the orders dated 06.08.2019 and 30.08.2019 passed by the Courts below, the petitioners have preferred this revision petition before

this Court.

Learned counsel for the petitioners vehemently submitted that petitioners are below 18 years of age and there is no evidence to show that if the

juvenile-petitioners are released on bail, then their release is likely to bring them into association with any known criminal, or expose them to moral,

physical or psychological danger, or that their release would defeat the ends of justice. It is argued that learned Courts below have not appreciated the

fact that the petitioners are juvenile and entitled to get benefit of provisions of the Act of 2015. Section 12 of the Act of 2015 clearly provides that if

the accused is juvenile, then he should be released on bail, but learned Courts below fully ignored the provisions of the Act of 2015. The petitioner is in

custody since long time and no further detention of the petitioner is required for any purpose. Learned counsel for the petitioner further submitted that

the gravity of the offence committed cannot be a ground to decline bail to a juvenile.

On the other hand, learned Public Prosecutor defended the impugned order passed by the Juvenile Justice Board in declining the bail to the petitioner

as also the judgment passed by the Appellate Court upholding the order passed by the Juvenile Justice Board.

I have carefully considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties and also perused the provisions of the Act of 2015.

The language of Section 12 of the Act of 2015 conveys the intention of the Legislature to grant bail to the juvenile, irrespective of nature or gravity of

the offence, alleged to have been committed by him and bail can be denied only in the case where there appears reasonable grounds for believing that

the release is likely to bring him into association with any known criminal, or expose him to moral, physical or psychological danger, or that his release

would defeat ends of justice.

In this context, I have also scanned through and perused the orders passed by the courts below.

Having carefully examined provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act vis-a-vis the orders passed by the courts below, I do not find that any of the

exceptional circumstances, to decline bail to a juvenile, as indicated in Section 12 of the Act of 2015, is made out.

In view of the aforesaid discussion, this revision petition is allowed and the order dated 06.08.2019 passed by the Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice

Board, Dungarpur as well as order dated 30.08.2019 passed by learned Special Judge of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,

Dungarpur, declining bail to the petitioners are hereby set aside.

It is ordered that the juvenile accused-petitioners (1) Appeal S/o Ranjeet Kharadi Meena & (2) Toofan @ Ashish S/o Surajmal Kalasua Meena, shall

be released on bail in connection with FIR No.141/2019 Police Station Sadar, District Dungarpur upon furnishing a personal bond by their legal

guardian (father of petitioner No.1 i.e. Ranjeet S/o Harishchandra Kharadi Meena & mother of petitioner No.2 Smt. Sharda W/o Surajmal Kalasua

Meena), in the sum of Rs.1,00,000/- each along with a surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of learned Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice

Board, Dungarpur; with the stipulation that on all subsequent dates of hearing, they shall appear before the said court or any other court, during

pendency of the investigation/trial in the case and that their guardian shall keep proper look after of the delinquent child and secure them away from

the company of known criminals.