Order
1. In para 11 of the judgment Criminal Appeal No. 1481 of 2001 of the High Court it has been observed as under:
“The learned counsel for the appellants contended that appellants, Gadha and Babla were minors on the day of the incident. But no such suggestion was made to any of the witnesses nor is any evidence adduced in defence. Rather, the fact that the accused-appellants Gadha and Babla have disclosed their age as 20 years on the day when their statements under Section 313 CrPC were recorded also makes out a case that their age was more than 16 years on the day of the incident. It is pertinent to mention here that on the day of the incident and during the trial, the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 was applicable to the cases of the Juveniles and not the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.”
2. In the light of the amendment made in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, a male up to the age of 18 years is now presumed to be a juvenile. In this view of the matter, we feel that an inquiry ought to be held by the Sessions Judge concerned or his nominee to go into the question of the age of the appellant and to determine the same as on the day when the incident happened. A report be submitted to this Court within four months.
3. The parties are directed to appear before the Sessions Judge, Nainital on 10-6-2011. Court Masters