Uttarakhand HC orders mandatory verification of accused's age in case of doubt

Nainital, Aug 29 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court has directed that in case of any doubt regarding the age of an accused, the magistrate or the concerned court must first verify it.

The order was issued by the high court after the Single Bench of Justice Ashish Naithani found that a person serving a sentence in connection with a murder case in Haridwar was a minor at the time of the incident.

The high court directed that since the accused is a juvenile, his case must be transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board. At the time of the crime, the accused was only 14 years, 7 months, and 8 days old, therefore he will be considered a minor, the high court noted.

The court also held that in future, whenever there is any doubt about the age of an accused, the magistrate or the concerned court must first conduct an age verification.

Age will be determined on the basis of a birth certificate, school register, and if unavailable, through medical examination, it said.

The court held that the earlier stay on the petitioner’s sentence and the bail order will remain intact.

However, the entire record of the lower court will be transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board so that it may pass a fresh decision in accordance with the law.

The court directed the Registrar General (Registry) of the High Court to circulate this order to all trial courts, Magistrate courts, Chief Judicial Magistrates, Sessions Courts, and Special Courts under criminal jurisdiction, ensuring compliance.

It has been mandated that at the time of taking the first remand, the concerned judge or magistrate must ascertain the age of the accused. If the age cannot be determined, it should be verified through the birth certificate, first admission register of the school, or similar documents, the court noted.

If age still cannot be established, then a medical examination may be conducted for confirmation, it added. PTI COR ALM ALM NB NB