Pawan Kumar Gupta vs State of NCT of Delhi

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date

20 January 2020

Case No.

Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 547 of 2020

Result

Dismissed

Bench

R. Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan, A.S. Bopanna

Citation

[2020] 1 S.C.R. 69 : 2020 INSC 55

Headnote

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 – ss.7A, 21 – Nirbhaya Case – Petitioner-accused claimed that he was juvenile at the time of commission of the offence and the same is apparent from the School Leaving Certificate – Filed petition for holding an enquiry in terms of s.7A – Dismissed by the Addl. Sessions Judge inter alia referring to the order of the Supreme Court dtd.

09.07.18 wherein the plea of juvenility taken by the petitioner was rejected – High Court also, in Revision, dismissed the Petitioner’s claim of juvenility – On appeal, held: In the present case, this is not the first time that the petitioner has raised the plea of juvenility – When the matter was pending before the lower courts, earlier the petitioner had raised the plea of juvenility which was rejected by the Metropolitan Magistrate by order dtd.10.01.13 – This order was not challenged – Further, when the criminal appeal was pending before the High Court, the petitioner and a co-accused raised the plea of juvenility – Rejected – Plea of juvenility was then raised in the review petition also before the Supreme Court – Said plea taken by the petitioner and the co-accused was rejected by order dtd.

09.07.18 and that order has attained finality – s.7A stipulates that an application can be filed before any court at any stage including the stage after the final disposal of the petition, however, once a convict has chosen to take the plea of juvenility before the Magistrate, High Court and also before the Supreme Court and the said plea has been rejected up to the Supreme Court, the petitioner cannot be allowed to reagitate the plea of juvenility by filing fresh application u/s.7A – High Court rightly dismissed the revision petition – No ground to interfere with the impugned order. Ram Narain v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2015) 17 SCC

699 : [2015] 9 SCR 200 ; Upendra Pradhan v. State of Orissa (2015) 11 SCC 124 : [2015] 5 SCR 214 ;

Ashwani Kumar Saxena v. State of Madhya Pradesh

(2012) 9 SCC 750 : [2012] 10 SCR 540 – referred to.

The following Order of the Court was passed: ORDER 1. Accused Pawan Kumar Gupta has filed this SLP challenging the order dated 19.12.2019 passed by the High Court of Delhi in Criminal Revision Petition No.1301 of 2019 dismissing the claim of the petitioner of juvenility. 2. Contention of the petitioner Pawan Kumar Gupta is that he was a juvenile at the time of commission of the offence and that the same is apparent from the School Leaving Certificate issued in his favour by Gayatri Bal Sanskar Shala, Narayan Pur, Tanda, District Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. According to the petitioner, as

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