In a landmark decision aimed at protecting the rights of juveniles, the Kerala High Court has issued new guidelines to ensure that minors are not mistakenly tried as adults in criminal cases. The decision comes in the wake of a troubling case where two juveniles were imprisoned for 14 years after being wrongfully treated as adults due to a failure to verify their age during their arrest and trial.
The Court’s order, passed after reviewing the case of Mahesh and Rajesh, highlighted a critical oversight in the legal process. The two individuals were arrested in 2004 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2010 for the murder of a relative. Their ages were initially recorded as 20 and 19 based on physical appearance and family declarations, but these were not cross-checked. It was later discovered that both were around 17 years old at the time of their arrest.
“The petitioners unnecessarily suffered incarceration for over 14 years due to this lapse,” stated the Bench of Justices Raja Vijayaraghavan V and G Girish. “If the petitioners’ juvenile status had been properly verified, they would have been sent to an observation home, with a maximum detention period of three years.”
The Court further pointed out that the failure to verify the petitioners’ ages had caused them significant hardship. Had their juvenility been disclosed during their trial, the maximum detention would have been limited to three years in a juvenile facility rather than a life sentence in prison.
Highlighting the responsibility of the judiciary, the Court referenced the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in Jitendra Singh @ Babboo Singh v State of UP, which stressed that the judiciary must take a proactive role in protecting the rights of juvenile accused. “The responsibility to protect the rights and interests of juveniles is more upon the judiciary, rather than the Investigating Agencies,” the Court noted.
In response to the case, the Kerala High Court issued comprehensive guidelines to prevent future mistakes. These include mandatory verification of the accused’s age through documents such as a matriculation certificate, birth certificate, Aadhaar card, or electoral identity card by the arresting officer. The Court has mandated that such verification be documented in the remand report and requires an immediate inquiry if these documents are unavailable.
Additionally, the Court has placed a duty on magistrates and judges to scrutinize the age verification process. If there is any doubt about the accused’s age, further inquiry must be conducted before remanding the accused to prison. In cases where the accused is suspected to be a juvenile, the guidelines stress that further investigation must follow the procedures outlined in Section 94(2) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
The Court also urged the legislature to address gaps in the law to prevent such incidents from recurring in the future.
