State Vs. Sumer Chand - Court Judgment

Excerpt:

penal code - section 409 and criminal procedure code--section 497--bail by magistrate--offence punishable with life imprisonment or for a term of 10 years--held, offence is punishable not for life imprisonment only and magistrate has jurisdiction to release accused on bail.;reference rejected. - section 2(k), 2(1), 7 & 40 & juvenile justice (care and protection of children) rules, 2007, rule 12 & 98 & juvenile justice act, 1986, section 2(h): [altamas kabir & cyriac joseph, jj] determination as to juvenile - appellant was found to have completed the age of 16 years and 13 days on the date of alleged occurrence - appellant was arrested on 30.11.1998 when the 1986 act was in force and under clause (h) of section 2 a juvenile was described to mean a child who had not attained the age of sixteen years or a girl who had not attained the age of eighteen years - it is with the enactment of the juvenile justice act, 2000, that in section 2(k) a juvenile or child was defined to mean a child who had not completed eighteen years of a ge which was given prospective prospect - appellant was about sixteen years of age on the date of commission of the alleged offence and had not.....c.b. bhargava, j.1. this is a reference of the d.m. pali, recommending that the order of the first class magistrate, sojat dated 22-2-1960 releasing the accused on bail be set aside. in support of the reference learned distt. magistrate has referred to provisions of section 497 cr. pc which provides that the accused shall not be released on bail if there appears reasonable grounds for holding that he has been guilty of the offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life. the accused is being prosecuted for an offence under section 409 ipc which is punishable with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of either description for a term of 10 years. it cannot be said that the offence was punishable with imprisonment for life only. learned magistrate had therefore jurisdiction to release the accused on bail. having regard to the circumstances mentioned in the order of the learned magistrate it cannot be said that he has wrongly exercised his discretion. learned dy. government advocate also does not support the reference. the reference is therefore rejected.