By Kawanpreet Kaur

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed an accused, 16 years of age at the time of the incident, to be tried by the Children’s Court. It was alleged that the accused was involved in a murder case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code. An application to try the case was filed in the Children’s Court by the complainant, however it was dismissed by the Juvenile Justice Board. Aggrieved by the dismissal of application, the complainant approached the High Court. The Court observed that the medical report of the accused stated that the accused was mentally and physically capable of committing the offence. A similar report was submitted by the Probationary Officer which also stated that the accused was in bad company and was earlier charged under Section 354 of IPC. Records also revealed that cases under Sections 354/354D/323/506/34 of IPC and the POCSO Act were registered against the accused since he was 15 years of age and he had spent around twenty days in a juvenile home. Further, the Court noted that the facebook posts of the accused proved his demeanor and the lack of respect for law and the Juvenile Justice Board erred in not taking the same into consideration. The Court held that any sympathy shown to the accused would be misplaced sympathy, resulting in further promoting his misdemeanor, thus, no further leniency should be shown to such child in conflict with law. Accordingly, the Court allowed the application of the complainant and directed the trial of the accused before the Children’s Court. (Saurabh v. State of Madhya Pradesh & Ors.- CRIMINAL REVISION No. 3086 of 2022)

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