Bail is warranted for a juvenile when no Section 12 exception is established.

The juvenile applicant, aged about 16, was charged with offences under Sections 20(b)(ii)(c), 27A and 29 of the NDPS Act after 6.165 kg of ganja was seized from his rented house, as part of a total seizure of 40.448 kg from the applicant and six adult co-accused.

The Juvenile Justice Board rejected his bail application under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (“JJ Act”), and the appellate court affirmed that decision.

The applicant challenged both orders in this revision under Section 102 of the JJ Act

Whether the orders rejecting the juvenile applicant’s bail under Section 12 of the JJ Act warranted interference in revision

Whether the applicant’s release was likely to bring him into association with known criminals, expose him to moral, physical or psychological danger, or defeat the ends of justice

Section 12 of the JJ Act governs bail for a child alleged to be in conflict with law; bail may be refused where release is likely to bring the child into association with a known criminal, expose the child to moral, physical or psychological danger, or defeat the ends of justice.

Section 102 of the JJ Act provides the basis for the High Court’s revisional jurisdiction. The Court cited no precedent

The Court considered the applicant’s social status report, which recorded that this was his first conflict with law and that his conduct at the Observation Home was good.

The prosecution had placed nothing before the Court to establish any of the grounds for refusing bail under Section 12.

The Court also took account of the applicant’s period in the Observation Home and the fact that the charge sheet had been filed

It directed that the applicant be released into his parents’ custody if either parent furnished a personal bond of ₹25,000 with one surety for the like amount, to the satisfaction of the Juvenile Justice Board, for the applicant’s appearance as directed.