17-Year-Old Accused Of Injuring Two Men With A Knife Gets Bail; MP HC Finds No Material He’d Associate With Known Criminals

The child, aged 17 at the time of the incident, was alleged to have injured two persons with a knife during an altercation.

A case was registered under Sections 109(1), 296, 351(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 25 of the Arms Act, 1959.

The Juvenile Justice Board rejected his application for bail under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015; the Sessions Court dismissed his appeal.

He challenged both orders in revision, arguing that no statutory ground for refusing bail was established and that his mother was willing to supervise him.

Section 12 of the JJ Act governs bail for a child alleged to be in conflict with law and permits refusal where reasonable grounds exist to believe that release would bring the child into association with a known criminal, expose the child to moral, physical or psychological danger, or defeat the ends of justice.

The revision was brought under Section 102 of the JJ Act, which provides the basis for the High Court’s revisional consideration.

The Court’s stated reasoning focused on whether the record supported the known-criminal-association ground.

The Court noted that the child was 17 at the time of the incident and found no material indicating that his release would bring him into association with a known criminal.

It therefore concluded that the courts below had erred in refusing bail.

The Court allowed the revision and ordered release to the mother’s custody, subject to a bond and surety, supervision, attendance before the Board, and conditions intended to prevent association with criminals and ensure that release did not defeat the ends of justice.

The Probation Officer was directed to monitor the child periodically; the order stated that breach of bail conditions would result in automatic cancellation of bail.