Court No. - 38
Case :- CRIMINAL REVISION No. - 149 of 2019 Revisionist :- Bitti @ Urmila (Minor) Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And Another Counsel for Revisionist :- Prabhakar Chandel Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.,Arvind Kumar Hon'ble Virendra Kumar Srivastava,J.
This revision has been filed by the revisionist Bitti @ Urmila (Minor) through her guardian (uncle) Nanbabu alias Lalbabu/natural guardian against the judgement and order dated 10.12.2018 passed by learned Session Judge, Chitrakoot in Crl. Appeal No.47 of 2018 and order dated 23.11.2018 passed by Juvenile Justice Board, Chitrakoot in case crime No. 420 of 2017, under sections 498-A,304- B I.P.C and 3/4 D.P. Act, police station Rajapur, District Chitrakoot.
Brief fact of this case is that an F.I.R was lodged by the opposite party No.2 against the revisionist (juvenile) and five others members of her family, under sections 498- A,304-B and 3/4 D.P. Act with the allegation that the daughter of opposite party No.2 Priti was married to Ajai ( brother of revisionist) on 29.4.2017. All the accused persons used to torture her due to demand of dowry and on 8.10.2017 her husband beaten her and revisionist ablazed fire by putting kerosene oil on the body of daughter of opposite party No.2.
Heard Sri Prabhakar Chandel, learned counsel for the revisionist, Sri Shyam Sundar Mishra holding brief of Sri Arvind Kumar, learned counsel for opposite party No.2 and learned A.G.A for the State.
Learned counsel for the revisionist has submitted that the revisionist is innocent and a minor girl. She was below 16 year at the time of occurrence. She has falsely been implicated in the present case. She is languishing in jail since 9.1.2018. If the revisionist is detained in jail then her carrier/ future would be ruined. Impugned judgement and order passed by the court below are against the provision of Juvenile Justice, (Care and Protection) Act (Act). The report submitted by the District Probation Officer is not against her. Hence she may kindly be released on bail.
Learned A.G.A and learned counsel for opposite party No.2 have vehemently opposed the submission made by the learned counsel for the revisionist and submitted that revisionist had played specific role in the cases of dowry death of deceased as transpires from the statements of the deceased recorded under sections 161 and 164 Cr.P.C. It has further been submitted that all the accused including the revisionist are in jail and the offence is grievous nature, hence the revision filed by her is liable to be dismissed.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2015 (Act) has been enacted with object to reform and protect the future career of children below the age of 18 years. The main purpose of this Act is to keep the juvenile out of company and society of habitual criminals and to keep them in place of safety. The parameter and guidelines for assessment of plea of bail of a juvenile has been provided in Section 12 of the Act which is as under:-
"When any person accused of a bailable or non-bailable offence, and apparently a juvenile, is arrested or detained or appears or is brought before a Board, such person shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) or in any other law for the time being in force, be released on bail with or without surety 1[or placed under the supervision of a Probation Officer or under the care of any fit institution of fit person] but he shall not be so released if there appear reasonable grounds for believing that the release is likely to bring him into association with any known criminal or expose him to moral, physical or psychological danger or that his release would defeat the ends of justice.
When such person having been arrested is not released on bail under sub-section (1) by the officer incharge of the police station, such officer shall cause him to be kept only in an observation home in the prescribed manner until he can be brought before a Board.
When such person is not released on bail under sub-section (1) by the Board it shall, instead of committing him to prison, make an order sending him to an observation home or a place of safety for such period during the pendency of the inquiry regarding him as may be specified in the order."
Thus it is clear that the provision for release to a juvenile has overriding effect to any provision contained in Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 or in any other law for the time being in force. According to this provision, a duty has been cost to grant bail to a juvenile unless there is a reasonable ground for plea that the release is likely to bring the juvenile into association with any known criminal or exposed the said juvenile to moral, physical or psychological danger or that her release would defeat the end of justice.
From the perusal of material on record as well as report submitted by the Probation Officer it transpires that no incriminating fact was placed by the Probation Officer regarding the conduct and behaviour of the revisionist. It has also been mentioned that the revisionist is a simple nature and belongs to very poor family. No person other than her family members are named in the F.I.R. She is the Nanad of the daughter of opposite party No.2. Neither the appellate court nor the Board had considered the report of probation officer in the light of section 12 of the Act. Thus the impugned orders are not just and proper and are liable to be set aside.
Consequently, the revision succeeds and is allowed. Both the impugned judgement and orders dated 10.12.2018 and 23.11.2018 passed by learned Session Judge, Chitrakoot and Juvenile Justice Board, Chitrakoot respectively are hereby set aside.
Let the revisionist Bitti @ Urmila (Minor) (Juvenile) through her uncle Nanbabu alias Lalbabu/natural guardian be released on bail in the aforesaid criminal case on furnishing a personal bond with two solvent sureties of her relatives each in like amount to the satisfaction of Juvenile Justice Board, Chitrakoot with the following conditions:-
(i) That uncle/ natural guardian of the revisionist will furnish an undertaking that upon released on bail, the juvenile will not be permitted to go into contact or association with any known or unknown criminal or exposed to any moral or physical danger and will not indulge in any criminal activity and he will make best effort for improvement of juvenile.
(ii) That the revisionist and her uncle/natural guardian shall remain present before the Board/trial court on each date fixed, either personally or through her counsel.
Order Date :- 30.4.2019 G.S