Learning Driving License, Voter ID Card Can't Be Considered To Determine Juvenile's Age: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court on Friday observed that the Learning Driving License and Voter I.D. Card should not be taken into account while determining the age of a juvenile.

With this, the Bench of Justice Rahul Chaturvedi quashed the order of Special Judge, POCSO Act/Additional Sessions Judge, Bulandshahar rejecting an application moved on behalf of one Naushad Ali (Revisionist), booked under Rape, Penetrative Sexual Assault charges (under POCSO Act), for declaring him to be juvenile.

The case in brief

Essentially, Ali had moved to the HC by way of filing the instant revision plea against the order of the Special Judge, POCSO Act/Additional Sessions Judge, Bulandshahar. The Court below, relying upon his Voter ID, held that on the date of the incident, the revisionist was a major as his date of birth is April 7, 1994.

The counsel for the revisionist, Suresh Kumar Maurya, submitted that the High School Certificate of Ali made it clear that he had passed the High School Examination, 2015 from the Board of High School and Intermediate Education U.P., and in the certificate his date of birth mentioned as March 4, 2001.

It was also argued that the Court below, while determining the age of the revisionist, had not taken into account the documents as enumerated in Section 94(2) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and declined to declare him (revisionist), a juvenile.

Court's observations 

Having perused the impugned order, the Court observed that Special Judge, POCSO Act had grossly erred in law, while relying upon the Learning (Driving) License of the revisionist and Voter I.D. Card, as the Court, stressed that none of these documents should be taken into account while determining the age of a juvenile.

The Court also noted that when in the High School Certificate, the age of the revisionist was mentioned, and which was available before the Special Judge, POCSO Act, he should have determined the age of the revisionist after taking into account the High School Certificate alone.

Consequently, holding that the Court wrongly rejected the claim of juvenility relying upon the documents which are not categorized in the Act of 2015, the Court quashed the impugned order and the matter was remanded back to the Court below with a direction to reconsider and re-visit the entire matter once again and decide the matter afresh.

The Court has also been directed to take into account the High School Certificate of the revisionist and decide the matter after authenticating and evaluating its genuineness, and pas a well-reasoned order on merits, strictly in accordance with law within a period of eight weeks.

With the aforesaid direction, the present revision stands disposed of.

Case title - Naushad Ali v. State Of U.P. Through Secretary Home And Another

Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (All) 170

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