SC chastises CJM, HC; orders trial of key accused as adult

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday held Shubam Sangra, a key accused in the sensational gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua in 2018, was not a minor at the time of the offence and ordered his trial as an adult, observing "a casual or cavalier approach" by courts in such cases cannot be permitted.

The top court gave credence to the medical board's report which estimated the age of the accused above 19 years at the time of commission of the crime and set aside the order passed by the CJM of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir and the high court.

A bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and J B Pardiwala said though there was a "clear and unambiguous case" in favour of the accused person's juvenility on the basis of his birth certificate and school records, he cannot take shelter under such documents when a heinous crime has been committed.

It also chastised the CJM and the high court over their "casual and cavalier" approach while deciding the accused was a juvenile when the crime was committed.

"...when an accused commits a heinous and grave crime like the one on hand and thereafter attempts to take the statutory shelter under the guise of being a minor, a casual or cavalier approach while recording as to whether an accused is a juvenile or not cannot be permitted as the courts are enjoined upon to perform their duties with the object of protecting the confidence of a common man in the institution entrusted with the administration of justice," the court said.

Refusing to believe the birth certificate and school records which had established the juvenility of the accused, Justice Pardiwala, writing the 66-page judgement, said the medical reports cannot be brushed aside.

"It is held that the respondent accused was not a juvenile at the time of commission of the offence and should be tried the way other co-accused were tried in accordance with the law. Law to take its own course," it said.

The judgement said the benefit of the principle of benevolent legislation attached to the Juvenile Justice Act would be extended to only such cases wherein the accused is held to be a juvenile on the basis of at least prima facie evidence inspiring confidence regarding his minority as the benefit of the possibilities of two views in regard to the age.