Aapka Consultant Judgment Series- In this series, we are providing case analysis of Landmark Judgments of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India.
State of Madhya Pradesh v. Anoop Singh
2015 (7) SCALE 445
JUDGES: Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Uday Umesh Lalit
Date of Decision: 03-07-2015
FACTS:-
The present Criminal Appeal has been filed against the judgment and order passed by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh whereby the High Court set aside the judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed by the Ld. Trial Judge and acquitted the accused from all the charges levelled against him. The prosecutrix was being raped by the accused when she was going to school. An F.I.R. was lodged against the accused and charge-sheet was filed for the offences under Sections 363, 366 and 376 of the IPC, 1860.
ISSUE:-
What criterion is to be adopted and applied to resolve the controversy over the age of rape victim?
JUDGMENT:-
The Hon’ble Supreme Court has observed that Rule 12(3) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Rules, 2007 is applicable in determining the age of the rape victim.
Rule 12(3) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Rules, 2007 states that-
“Rule 12(3): In every case concerning a child or juvenile in conflict with law, the age determination inquiry shall be conducted by the court or the Board or, as the case may be, the Committee by seeking evidence by obtaining –
(a) (i) the matriculation or equivalent certificates, if available; and in the absence whereof;
(ii) the date of birth certificate from the school (other than a playschool) first attended; and in the absence whereof;
(iii) the birth certificate given by a corporation or a municipal authority or a panchayat;
(b) and only in the absence of either (i), (ii) or (iii) of clause (a) above, the medical opinion will be sought from a duly constituted Medical Board, which will declare the age of the juvenile or child. In case exact assessment of the age cannot be done, the Court or the Board or, as the case may be, the Committee, for the reasons to be recorded by them, may, if considered necessary, give benefit to the child or juvenile by considering his/her age on lower side within the margin of one year.
and, while passing orders in such case shall, after taking into consideration such evidence as may be available, or the medical opinion, as the case may be, record a finding in respect of his age and either of the evidence specified in any of the clauses (a)(i), (ii), (iii) or in the absence whereof, clause (b) shall be the conclusive proof of the age as regards such child or the juvenile in conflict with law.”
The Court found on the facts that two documents were there which supports the case of the prosecutrix i.e. the birth certificate and the middle school certificate. The date of birth shown on the birth certificate was 29.08.1987 and on the Middle School Examination Certificate was 27.08.1987. There is a difference of just two days in the aforementioned certificates which is highly immaterial to presume that the documents could not be relied upon in determining the age of the prosecutrix. These documents can be used to ascertain the age of the victim as per Rule 12(3) (b). The difference of just two days is immaterial and just on this minor discrepancy, the evidence cannot be discarded.
The Court also stated that the High Court should have relied firstly on the documents available as stipulated under Rule 12(3) (b) and only in the absence of such; the medical opinion should have been sought. The Trial Court has rightly held that ossification test is not the sole criteria for determination of the date of birth of the prosecutrix when certificate of birth and also the certificate of medical examination of the prosecutrix had been enclosed.
HELD:-
The Court held that that Rule 12(3) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007, is applicable in determining the age of the victim of rape and that medial opinion can be relied on only in the absence of the documents prescribed in Rule 12(3) of the Juvenile Justice Rules.
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