HC sets free juvenile erringly jailed for life

A boy, who was barely 13-year-old in  when he took part in a dacoity-cum-murder in 2003, spent six years in jail despite the Juvenile Justice Act stipulating that a juvenile cannot be sentenced for more than three years.  

The Bombay High Court on Monday ordered the release of the boy (name withheld), converting his life sentence to a three-year term, which he has already served.

The boy grew up in Andhra Pradesh and worked as a domestic help in Mumbai. He was 13 to 14 years old when he took part in a dacoity-cum-murder, along with five others.

When arrested, he never pointed out to the court that he was a minor in when the offence took place. The Sewri sessions court sentenced him to life imprisonment in August 2006.

After that, he filed an application from the Kolhapur jail, where he was lodged, challenging the sentence on the basis of age. The court ordered his medical examination which revealed that he’s currently 19 to 20 years old. Noting that the petitioner was a juvenile at the time of offence, justice Ranjana Desai and justice RG Ketkar ordered his immediate release.