Boy booked for ‘killing constable’ to be tried as adult: Juvenile Justice Board transfers case to children’s court again

According to the police, Shinde, who was on duty near a petrol pump in Khar, had stopped the minor for riding a motorbike while underage. Police say the 21-year-old assaulted Shinde with a stick, causing a severe injury to which he succumbed nine days later

The Juvenile Justice Board has transferred the case of a 17-year-old to the special children’s court to try him as an adult for allegedly killing a traffic constable. But in the order passed by the Board last month, one of the members of the Board differed in opinion from the principal magistrate, sources said. The 17-year-old boy was apprehended along with his 21-year old brother in 2016 because the latter allegedly fatally attacked Vilas Shinde. According to the police, Shinde, who was on duty near a petrol pump in Khar, had stopped the minor for riding a motorbike while underage. Police say the 21-year-old assaulted Shinde with a stick, causing a severe injury to which he succumbed nine days later.

In October 2016, the Juvenile Justice Board transferred the case to the special court to try the minor as an adult under the Juvenile Justice Act. But in November 2017, the special children’s court ordered the Juvenile Justice Board to conduct a fresh inquiry into whether the minor should be tried as an adult. The court held that the Board’s decision to transfer the case was only taken by the principal magistrate without the assent of its other member, who is a social worker experienced with children. The court said there should be “a social touch” to the Board’s order, not just a “judicial” one.

But sources said the Board’s order last month transferring the case back to the court was taken even though the social worker member differed with the magistrate. According to sources, while the magistrate transferred the case to try the minor as an adult, the social worker member said in the order that the Board should try him. The social worker member said in the order that the Board, along with the probation officer and NGOs working with children in conflict with law, can rehabilitate the boy, who is currently out on bail and studying in Class XII.

Under the Juvenile Justice Act, the Board comprises two social workers and is led by the principal magistrate. During final disposal orders, it requires the presence of at least two members. The Act states that in case of difference of opinion in the Board during final disposal, the opinion of the majority shall prevail. If there is no majority, the magistrate’s opinion would be held as the final decision. In this case, the Board’s second social worker member has not been in attendance for over a year, sources said.

Under the amended Juvenile Justice Act, there are provisions for a child between 16 and 18 years, to be tried before the children’s court in heinous offences. While a Board can direct a minor in conflict with the law to spend a maximum of three years in a special home, a children’s court can send the minor to a place of safety till he or she attains the age of 21, and thereafter decide whether he or she needs to be sent to an adult prison.

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