The Supreme Court has ordered the immediate release of a 58-year-old man from jail undergoing life imprisonment after finding out that he was still a juvenile when a murder case was lodged against him in 1979.
A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Hrishikesh Roy also noted the man had already undergone 17 years of his sentence.
The applicant Vijai Pal, represented by legal aid counsel Dipak Kumar Jena, filed a plea in 2018 seeking a declaration that he was a minor at the time of the offence. He was convicted in the murder case and sentenced to life term. His appeal before the top court was also dismissed.
The court on July 13, 2018 directed district judge, Hardoi to conduct an inquiry with regard to his claim as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
A report submitted by the Juvenile Justice Board stated since the school records were not available, the applicant's claim that he was less than 18 years of age at the time of offence could not be verified.
Subsequently, going by Rule 12(3) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007, an ossification test was conducted to ascertain the age of the applicant by the medical board, Farukhabad district on October 12, 2018. The report declared that he was 55-year-old on the date of testing.
After deducting 39 years, four months and one day from the date of the incident on June 11, 1979, the medical board was of the opinion that the applicant was of 16 years and eight months on the date of commission of the offence.
"It is no more res integra that an application for declaration of juvenility can be filed at any stage even after dismissal of the special leave petition by the court," the bench said.
"Accepting the report of the Juvenile Justice Board, the applicant is found to be a juvenile on the date of offence. He is directed to be released forthwith," the bench said in its order.
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