MP HC Grants Bail To Child In Conflict With Law, Citing No Material He Would Associate With A Known Criminal

In brief

The question

Whether the courts below erred in refusing bail under Section 12 of the JJ Act in the absence of material supporting a statutory ground for refusal.

The court held

The revision was allowed, and the orders of the Board and appellate court were set aside.

It also directed

The child was directed to be released into his mother’s custody on a personal bond of ₹50,000 with a solvent surety in the like amount, subject to specified supervision, attendance, and non-association conditions.

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

01Facts

An FIR was registered at Police Station Heera Nagar, Indore, alleging that the child in conflict with law and others were involved in a quarrel and assaulted the complainant’s companion; the child’s alleged role was to cause injury with a stone.

¶ 2

The child, who was 17 at the time, sought release on bail under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (“JJ Act”).

¶ 2

The Juvenile Justice Board rejected the application, and the appellate court affirmed that decision.

¶ 2

The child challenged both orders in revision.

¶ 2, 6

The child’s counsel submitted that there was no material showing any of the statutory grounds for refusing bail, and that the child’s mother was willing to take custody and supervise him.

¶ 3

02Issues

i.Whether the courts below erred in refusing bail under Section 12 of the JJ Act in the absence of material supporting a statutory ground for refusal.

¶ 6–8

ii.Whether the child should be released into his mother’s custody subject to conditions.

¶ 8–10

03Law Applied

Section 12 of the JJ Act provides for release on bail of a child alleged to be in conflict with law, unless there are reasonable grounds for believing that 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.

¶ 6

Section 102 provides for revision before the High Court, while Section 101 provides for an appeal from the Board’s order.

¶ 1–2

No precedent was cited.

Provisions in the judgment · 9 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Section 102 Section 12 Section 101

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 Section 103 Section 109 Section 115 Section 296 Section 351 Section 3

04Reasoning

The High 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.

¶ 6

It therefore held that the courts below had erred in law by refusing bail.

¶ 7

Considering the circumstances, the Court ordered release into the mother’s custody, with conditions intended to secure supervision, the child’s attendance before the Board, and compliance with the ends of justice.

¶ 8–10