GUWAHATI, India, Nov. 10 -- Gauhati High Court issued the following order on Oct. 13:

1. Heard Mr. A. K. Baruah, learned counsel for the petitioners. Also heard Mr. P. N. Goswami, learned Additional Advocate General, Assam, representing the State respondents. 2. Two petitioners filed the present writ petition. Petitioner No. 1 is the grandfather of Petitioner No.

2. Petitioner No. 2 is an orphaned minor.

3. The petitioner No. 2 was arrested in connection with Manja P.S. Case No. 25/2014 registered under Section 379 IPC dated 17.04.2014 (G.R. Case No. 313/2014). The present writ petition is filed, alleging illegal detention for three months in a general prison, failure to provide treatment to the petitioner, No. 2, failure to investigate by the Juvenile Police, and filing of a charge sheet before the General Criminal Court instead of trial by the Juvenile Court. The petitioner prays for the aforesaid action of the State to be declared unconstitutional, with a further prayer to compensate the minor suitably.

4. The facts in a nutshell, which are essential for the proper determination of the issues raised, are that one Sri Gauranga Kar, BSNL Telecom Mechanic, Manja, lodged an FIR on 17.04.2014 inter alia alleging that for one week, some unknown persons stole telephone cable from the roadside of Dimapur, Diphu and Nagaon Highway. Based on the aforesaid FIR, the petitioner No. 2 was apprehended and arrested by Manja Police Station on 19.04.2014. The accused petitioner, No. 2, was produced before the Additional District Magistrate of Karbi Anglong on 19 April 2014. There was an overwriting in the recorded age of the petitioner No. 2, and it was written as "18 years". The petitioners claim that petitioner No. 2 was a juvenile on the date of the alleged crime, being 14 years old at the time of commission of the offence.

The grandfather of the orphaned petitioner No. 2, a rustic, uneducated villager, with the help of a local NGO, filed an application on 03.07.2014, along with supporting documents, before the learned Magistrate, stating that the accused in custody is a juvenile. However, on the said date, the accused was not produced before the learned Magistrate. On the Magistrate's direction, he was produced before him on 4 July 2014. Taking note that there are some mismatches in the name of the petitioner No. 2, in his School Certificate, the learned Magistrate, under its order dated 04.07.2014, referred the issue to the Medical Board for the determination of age, directing that such a report be furnished on the next date fixed, i.e. on 09.07.2014. Unfortunately, the Magistrate remanded the petitioner No. 2 to judicial custody till 09.07.2014.

It is very disheartening to note that the Medical Board failed to submit its report on 09.07.2014 and thereafter, on a direction, such a report was submitted before the learned Magistrate, whereby the age of the petitioner No. 2 was estimated to be below "14 years" at that stage.

Then, the accused was presented before the Juvenile Justice Board on 10 July 2014, and the custody of the petitioner was given to his grandfather. Thus, the Child in Conflict with Law was kept in detention from 17.04.2014 to 11.07.2014, i.e., for a period of 80 days. It is also seen from the record that the juvenile in conflict with the law was in police custody and subsequently at Diphu Jail with hardened criminals. It is also the case of the petitioners that a verbal request was also made initially on 19.04.2014 to refer the matter to the Juvenile Justice Board; however, it was not referred.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/ecourtindiaHC/cases/display_pdf.php?filename=lG6h6ilt3H1fOBr4DLdM9VvwU%2BNHUJfMCADttsvj60bppcvg%2BqxlGt1UcgzrjqTp&caseno=WP(C)/5850/2014&cCode=1&cino=GAHC010227332014&state_code=6&appFlag=)

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