A Special Court in Vadodara on Thursday sentenced a Child in Conflict with Law (CCL) to life imprisonment for stabbing to death a 14-year-old student inside the toilet of a primary school in Vadodara city in June 2018.
The CCL, who was a student aged 16 years and six months on the date of the incident, was tried as an adult after the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) transferred the case to the Children’s Court following preliminary assessment.
As per the case of the prosecution, the incident occurred on June 22, 2018, when the CCL stabbed to death the 14-year-old boy in a toilet at the primary school. As per the prosecution case, the CCL was seen in CCTV footage, emerging from the toilet with a knife in his hand, a brown bag and blood-soaked clothes right behind two other students, who were seen running out of the toilet in panic seconds earlier. The prosecution, which examined 20 witnesses, also submitted that the CCL had been rebuked by a teacher two days prior to the said incident and had “premeditated the attack on a fellow student in vengeance.” [against the school authorities]
As per the facts put forth by the prosecution, the Vadodara city police, which investigated the case, filed a chargesheet before the JJB, following which the Board transferred the case to the Children’s Court in accordance with Section 15 of the JJ Act.
Public Prosecutor PC Patel submitted that the CCL committed the murder of a student, “who he did not even know” and therefore, “no leniency should be shown.” The prosecution sought punishment prescribed as per the provisions of the JJ Act. The court also considered evidence submitted by the prosecution to prove that the murder was “premeditated” and that the CCL had “come prepared” to commit the crime “armed with chilli powder and a sharp knife”. The court also observed that the facts of the case put forth by the prosecution had proven the “mindset of the CCL at the time of the incident as well as his capacity to understand the crime and the resulting consequences of his act.”
The CCL was represented by an advocate provided by the legal aid services, who urged the court to award the “least possible punishment” considering his young age – presently around 25 years – and the fact that he was now the only bread-winner of his family, earning a livelihood through employment.
Considering the submissions of the Public Prosecutor, the court held that the prosecution had “proved beyond reasonable doubt” and convicted the CCL to be sentenced to life imprisonment with “explicit possibility of release” as per the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act. along with a fine of Rs 10000 and an additional simple imprisonment of six months in case of failure to pay the fine. While acquitting the CCL under Section 135 (disobedience of law in force) of the Gujarat Police Act. The court has also directed that the time spent in a safe place as well as in judicial custody would be considered as part of the CCL’s duration of the life sentence.
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When the CCL completed 21 years of age, he was transferred to judicial custody in January 2023 from a Zonal Observation Home in the state, where he had been kept after being detained on June 23, 2018. He was granted bail in October 2023.
While pronouncing the verdict, the court said the CCL had committed a grave and heinous crime by committing the murder of another student studying in the school and such crime cannot be taken lightly. The court noted that since the prosecution had not submitted any other criminal antecedents against the CCL, sentencing as per the provisions of Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice Act would “meet the ends of justice.”
As per Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice Act, “No child in conflict with law shall be sentenced to death or for life imprisonment without the possibility of release, for any such offence, either under the provisions of this Act or under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code or any other law for the time being in force.”
While delivering the verdict, the court also expressed compassion for the family of the deceased student and directed the District Legal Services Authority to “adequately compensate” the family although “financial aid cannot fill the vacuum created by losing their beloved son.”
Case history
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The incident dates back to June 22, 2018, during the change-over time of the government primary school located in a residential area of the city, when the students of the morning shift were preparing to leave the school and students meant to attend the afternoon shift of the school started arriving.
Teachers, students and staff were alarmed after hearing screams emerging from the school toilet. When teachers reached the spot, they came across the blood-soaked 14-year-old deceased student, who had enrolled at the school only two days prior to the incident. The student died on the spot. The Vadodara city police had taken custody and sent the body of the deceased student’s for post mortem from the school.
The deceased student and the CCL did not know each other, as per the prosecution case.
While the CCL escaped from the school after stabbing the deceased student, he was later detained by the police on being identified by teachers in the CCTV footage of the school premises. A school bag belonging to the CCL with weapons had also been recovered from the terrace. The CCL was apprehended a day later from Valsad, about 200 kilometers from Vadodara city. Although there was no CCTV inside the urinal where the CCL had stabbed the deceased student, his images had been captured on cameras located outside the toilet. Two students, who witnessed the stabbing as well as teachers of the school were part of the prosecution witnesses.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
