Full Judgment
CRR No.476 of 2014 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRR No.476 of 2014.
Date of Decision : 09.04.2014.
Sukhdev Singh ...Petitioner Versus State of Haryana ...Respondent CORAM:- HON'BLE Mr.JUSTICE TEJINDER SINGH DHINDSA.
Present: Mr.Navneet Singh, Advocate for the petitioner.
Mr.Amandeep Singh, AAG, Haryana.
*** Tejinder Singh Dhindsa, J.
(Oral) A bail application preferred by the present petitioner was dismissed vide order dated 08.11.2013 by the Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board, Gurgaon.
The appeal preferred by the petitioner against such order has also been rejected by the Additional Sessions Judge, Gurgaon vide order dated 16.12.2013.
It is towards impugning the order dated 08.11.2013 passed by the Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board, Gurgaon as also the order dated 16.12.2013 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Gurgaon that the instant revision petition has been filed before this Court.
Learned counsel for the parties have been heard at Kanchan length.
2014.04.12 11:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh CRR No.476 of 2014 2 The factual position as regards the present petitioner being a juvenile is not in dispute.
The FIR in question was registered on the complaint of one Ankur Basu with the allegations that while he was working and employed in Reliance Mart, Sector-29, Gurgaon and was on duty along with other employees, on 10.06.2013, at about 12.30 p.m., five young man with muffled faces entered the premises armed with knives and dandas and tied the hands of the complainant as also other employees with tape/clothes and thereafter looted Cameras, mobile phones and laptops.
The present petitioner was arrested on 22.06.2013 i.e.after 12 days from the alleged date of occurrence on the basis of a confessional statement made before the investigating agency.
The bail application preferred by the petitioner was dismissed by the Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board on 08.11.2013 by merely observing that if the petitioner is released on bail, there is every likelihood of him to come in association with other criminals as well as would expose him to moral, physical or psychological danger.
Even the appeal preferred by the petitioner has been dismissed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Gurgaon in the light of impugned order dated 16.12.2013.
A perusal of such order would reveal that the Court has noticed the allegations against the petitioner to be serious since a laptop, one mobile phone as also a country made pistol .315 bore along with 4 cartridges have been recovered.
It has further been observed that if benefit of Kanchan 2014.04.12 11:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh CRR No.476 of 2014 3 bail is granted to the juveniles in such like cases, it will only encourage them to commit more offences of similar nature.
Having heard counsel for the parties at length, I am of the considered view that the present revision petition deserves to succeed.
Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (in short 'the Act') reads as under :- 12.
Bail of juvenile - (1) When any person accused of a bailable of non-bailable offence, and apparently a juvenile, is arrested or detained or appears or is brought before a Board, such person shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(2 of 1974) or in any other law for the time being in force, be released on bail with or without surety [for placed under the supervision of a Probation Officer or under the care of any fit institution or fit person].but he shall not be so released if there appear reasonable grounds for believing that the release is likely to bring him into association with any known criminal or expose him to moral, physical or psychological danger or that his release would defeat the ends of justice.
(2) When such person having been arrested is not released on bail under sub-section (1) by the officer incharge of the police station, such officer shall cause him to be kept only in an observation home in the prescribed manner until he can be brought before a Board.
(3) When such person is not released on bail under Kanchan 2014.04.12 11:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh CRR No.476 of 2014 4 sub-section (1) by the Board it shall, instead of committing him to prison, make an order sending him to an observation home or a place of safety for such period during the pendency of the inquiry regarding him as may be specified in the order.”
.
A bare reading of the provision reproduced here-in- above, would make it apparent that an exception has been carved out for declining the bail to the juvenile who is in conflict with law i.e.he or she is likely to come in association with any known criminal or upon release on bail would expose such juvenile to moral, physical or psychological danger or that release of the juvenile would defeat the ends of justice.
For invoking such exception, these has to be some material before the competent authority on the basis of which, it can be held that the release of the juvenile in the present case would fall within the exception re- cognised under Section 12 of the Act.
The impugned order dated 16.12.2013 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Gurgaon is completely bereft of any such reasoning.
No such material/evidence has been adverted to in the order.
On the contrary, the Additional Sessions Judge, Gurgaon has merely reproduced the language of the statutory provision and the exception carved out under Section 12 of the Act which in itself would not be sufficient.
Seriousness of the offences as mentioned in the FIR would not be a ground to deny to the juvenile the concession of bail in the light of Section 12 of the Act.
Kanchan 2014.04.12 11:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh CRR No.476 of 2014 5 At this stage, it would be useful to refer to a judgment passed by a coordinate bench of this Court in Atul Kumar and another versus State of Haryana, 2003(4) RCR (Criminal) 404, wherein Section 12 of the Act has been considered.
Even in the facts in Atul Kumar's case (supra).the offence attributed to the juvenile was serious and Sections 302/323/147 and 149 IPC had been cited and the coordinate bench held in the following terms : “I am further of the view that there has to be some evidence on record showing that after the release on bail, the petitioners are likely to come in association with any known criminal or their release on bail would expose them to moral, physical or psychological danger or that their release would defeat the ends of justice.
In a given case if the parents of the petitioners are also criminals either ex- convicts or members of a gang, it may be possible for the Court to refuse bail.
Another example could be whether the petitioners have repeated the crime showing lapse on the part of the parents after their release while on bail, then the case may be covered by the exceptions carved out under Section 12 of the Act.
However, in a case like the one in hand, where no material has been placed on record to show that the release of the 'juvenile in conflict with law' would defeat the ends of justice or any other exception, the petitioners cannot be denied the benefit of bail merely on the basis of conjectures or opinion formed by the prosecution or the Court.
Reliance in this regard could be placed on the judgments in the case of Sahabuddin @ Shabboo's case (supra) and Sanjeev Kumar's case (supra).”
.
For the reasons stated above, the present revision petition is allowed.
The impugned orders of both the Courts below are set-aside.
The petitioner is held entitled to grant of bail Kanchan 2014.04.12 11:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh CRR No.476 of 2014 6 under Section 12 of the Act.
Accordingly, it is directed that the petitioner be released on bail subject to furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gurgaon.
Petition allowed in the aforesaid terMs.April 09, 2014.
(TEJINDER SINGH DHINDSA) kanchan JUDGE Kanchan 2014.04.12 11:43 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh