Juveniles are eligible for anticipatory bail henceforth: Calcutta HC

Kolkata, Nov 14 A three-judge division bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Friday, ruled that henceforth the juveniles accused in any act of crime will be eligible for anticipatory bail.

Till now, only adults accused of any crime were eligible for anticipatory bail and not the juveniles. But following the order by Calcutta High Court’s three-judge division bench of Justice Jay Sengupta, Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, and Justice Bivas Pattanayak, henceforth, the juveniles accused in any crime would also be eligible for anticipatory bail.

The three-judge division bench of the Calcutta High Court was the first bench of any high court in the country to pass such a legendary order.

Legal circles feel that this is a legendary order, considering that till now, it was only the Juvenile Justice Board that used to decide whether a juvenile accused of any crime would be eligible for release on bail or not. However, the Juvenile Justice Board did not have the authority to grant anticipatory bail to any juvenile accused of a crime.

However, the observation in the order by the three-judge division bench was split. While Justice Sengupta and Justice Ghosh favoured anticipatory bail for the juveniles accused of crime, Justice Pattanayak was against it.

Since the majority of the three-member bench of judges voted in favour of anticipatory bail for the juveniles accused of crime, following this ruling, henceforth, any minor accused will be able to apply for anticipatory bail.

The majority in the three-judge division bench observed that personal liberty applies to all citizens, including juveniles, and hence they should enjoy equal rights for anticipatory bail like adults.

Secondly, the majority in the three-judge division bench also observed that while the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act elaborates on legal actions after the arrest of a juvenile accused in a crime, the same act does not elaborate on the legal actions before the arrest.

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