w145-10 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MUMBAI CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO.145 OF 2010 Sunil Devram Mhase ..Petitioner. Versus State of Maharashtra ..Respondent. .... Mr.Murtaza M. Nazmi, Advocate for the Petitioner. Mrs.S.D. Shinde, A.P.P., for the Respondent - State. .... CORAM : D.B.BHOSALE & A.R.JOSHI, JJ. DATED : 15TH APRIL, 2010 ORAL ORDER (PER A.R.JOSHI,J.) 1. This is a Writ Petition filed by the petitioner by sending a letter through jail under his thumb impression, praying for treating him as a juvenile as on the date of the offence and giving him the benefit of the Juvenile Justice Act. 2. By order of this Court, the learned Advocate Shri Murtaza was appointed to represent the petitioner-convict, who is presently lodged at Central Prison, Nashik. 3. Heard learned Advocate for the petitioner and learned w145-10 2 APP for the State for some time. 4. It is the submission on behalf of the petitioner that on the date of the offence of murder, for which he was convicted by the Sessions Court, Thane on 6.5.2005, he was below 18 years of age as according to him his date of birth is 4th July, 1991. In support of this submission, a copy of the birth certificate issued by Gramsevak, Grampanchayat Khuded, Taluka - Vikramgad, District - Thane is produced which shows the date of birth as 4.7.1991. On this plea of being juvenile on the date of commission of the offence, directions were given by the earlier Division Bench vide order dated 22.2.2010 to call for the record of the Sessions Case No.34 of 2005 in which the present petitioner was convicted and was sentenced to imprisonment for life. Subsequently such record was received. Time was sought by the learned APP to inspect the said record and to find out the genuineness of the allegations of the petitioner as to his date of birth. Thereafter this Bench gave directions to the concerned police station to visit the Grampanchayat in order to ascertain the validity of the birth certificate, copy of which was produced along with the Petition through jail. Consequently detailed report is brought today before this Bench. On perusal of the same, it w145-10 3 reveals that as per the record of the Zilla Parishad School of village Khuded, the date of birth of the petitioner is 10.3.1985. We have gone through the statements and affidavits produced today by the learned APP and ascertained that the date of birth of the petitioner is 10.3.1985 and not as 4.7.1991. In this view of the matter, we are satisfied that the petitioner was major as on the date of the offence and was not juvenile offender. In the result, there is nothing to entertain the present writ petition and the same is dismissed and accordingly disposed of. (A.R.JOSHI,J.) (D.B.BHOSALE,J.)