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Crimes committed by a juvenile must not be held against them as an adult says Supreme Court
Supreme Court on Friday enunciated that crimes committed by a juvenile must not be attached with stigma and must not prejudice them into adulthood; especially when it comes to job prospects.
The judgement rendered by the Division Bench comprising of Justices U.U. Lalit and Vineet Saran stated:
“The thrust of the legislation, i.e. 6 The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 as well as The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 is that even if a juvenile is convicted, the same should be obliterated, so that there is no stigma with regard to any crime committed by such person as a juvenile. This is with the clear object to reintegrate such juvenile back in the society as a normal person, without any stigma.”
The appeal was concerning Government (CISF) denying appointment of one, Ramesh Bishnoi after taking note of the criminal background he had in his past. Criminal complaints under Sections 354 (assault with intend to outrage the modesty of a woman), 447 (criminal trespass) and 509 (insult to outrage the modesty of woman) of IPC were registered against him in 2009 when he was a minor. It was also disclosed by Respondent about the complaints when he was applying for employment in CISF mentioning that the case was dropped due to lack of evidence. However, he was still denied appointment. Aggrieved by this, he approached Rajasthan High Court. The Hon’ble High Court; initially a single bench, followed by a division bench ruled in his favour directing the government that his employment be activated in limine. The Petitioner aggrieved by the said direction approached Supreme Court wherein, the Court dismissed the petition stating:
“Even if the allegations were found to be true, then too the respondent could not have been deprived of getting a job on the basis of such charges as the same had been committed while the respondent was juvenile.”
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