CRR No.1687 of 2011 (O&M) 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA, CHANDIGARH CRR No. 1687 of 2011 (O&M) Date of Decision:August 02,2011 Banti and another ...........Petitioners Versus State of Haryana ..........Respondents Coram: Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Sabina Present: Mr.Radhe Shyam Sharma, Advocate for the petitioners. ** Sabina, J. Petitioners have filed this petition challenging order dated 15.6.2011 whereby bail application filed by the petitioners was dismissed and order dated 17.6.2011 passed by the Additional Sessions Judge whereby the appeal filed by the petitioners against the order rejecting the bail application was dismissed. Hence, the present petition. Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the petitioners are juvenile, aged about 15 and 14 years respectively and, as such, are entitled to be released on bail. After hearing the learned counsel for the petitioners, I am of the opinion that the instant petition deserves dismissal. Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 (hereinafter referred to as the `Act') reads as under:- CRR No.1687 of 2011 (O&M) 2 "12.Bail of juvenile.-(1)When any person accused of a bailable or non-bailable offence, and apparently a juvenile, is arrested or detained or appears or is brought before a Board, such person shall, notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(2 of 1974) or in any other law for the time being in force, be released on bail with or without surety [ or placed under the supervision of a Probation Officer or under the care of any fit institution or fit person] but he shall not be so released if there appear reasonable grounds for believing that the release is likely to bring him into association with any known criminal or expose him to moral, physical or psychological danger or that his release would defeat the ends of justice. 2) When such person having been arrested is not released on bail under sub-section (1) by the officer incharge of the police station, such officer shall cause him to be kept only in an observation home in the prescribed manner until he can be brought before a Board. 3) When such person is not released on bail under sub-section (1) by the Board it shall, instead of committing him to prison, make an order sending him to an observation home or a place of safety for such period during the pendency of the inquiry regarding him as may be specified in the order". Thus, as per the above provision, a juvenile is liable to be released on bail with or without surety. However, if there appears reasonable ground for believing that release of the juvenile was likely to bring him into association with any known criminal or expose him for CRR No.1687 of 2011 (O&M) 3 moral, physical or psychological danger,or in case his release defeats the ends of justice, then he may not be released on bail. In the present case, although petitioner No.1 is aged 15 years and petitioner No.2 is aged 14 years but the allegations against them are of commission of gang rape of a minor girl. In these circumstances, the Courts below rightly came to the conclusion that in case the petitioners are released on bail, there would be likelihood that they would come in association with known criminals. No ground for interference is made out. Dismissed. (Sabina) Judge August 02, 2011 arya