New Delhi, Sep 2 Allowing a father's plea, a Delhi court has set aside a Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) order and directed the prosecution of two juveniles as adults in a murder case.
The judge said that the juveniles had been "emboldened" to commit a second murder due to their early release in a previous murder case. According to the prosecution, the juveniles had murdered the son of Atma Ram on May 9, 2022.
The JJB order had said that the two juveniles should be tried as Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) rather than as adults.
Additional Sessions Judge Savitri Attri set aside the order as she noted that the two juveniles, both approximately 17 years old, were fully aware of the JJB proceedings and had executed their conspiracy to murder the victim in a meticulously planned manner.
“The manner in which the alleged incident was committed is sufficient to show that CCLs had possessed the physical and mental capacity to commit the offence. They had executed their conspiracy to murder the deceased in a perfectly planned manner,” the court said.
The court referenced the postmortem report, which revealed that the deceased had suffered four fractures and 33 injuries, including 20 lacerated wounds, indicating the brutality of the attack.
One of the juveniles had assaulted the victim with a sauce bottle on his head, a large stone on his chest, and the butt of a country-made pistol. The other juvenile actively participated in the murder.
The motive behind the murder was alleged revenge, as one of the juveniles had been beaten up by the victim earlier, who had also circulated a video of the incident.
The court stated that both juveniles not only possessed the physical and mental capacity to commit the murder, but also understood the consequences of their actions.
The judge said that the manner in which they committed the crime left no doubt that they deserved to be tried as adults.
She took into account various reports, including a psychologist's opinion, which indicated that the juveniles had a sense of judgement and understood the consequences of their actions.
However, they showed no remorse and were emotionally detached from the victim and his family. The court also noted that the juveniles had concocted a story about being intoxicated at the time of the incident to avoid being tried as adults.
They juveniles were also aware of the JJB proceedings, including the maximum punishment for heinous offences.
"...a detailed account of the manner in which the offence was committed leaves no doubt in mind to conclude that they deserve to be tried as adults," the court said.
--IANS
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