IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CR. REV. No.1468 of 2008 RANJAY KUMAR @ RANJAY RAI Versus THE STATE OF BIHAR & ANR For the petitioner : - Mr. Uday Pratap Singh No. 1, Advocate Mr. Ashok Kumar, Advocate. For the O.P. : - Smt. Indu Bala Pandey, APP ----------- 06/ 21.07.2009 Heard both sides. Petitioner seeks to challenge the order dated 5.1.2007 passed by the learned trial court in Sessions Trial No. 195 of 2006, whereby the claim made by the petitioner during the trial of the case for declaring him juvenile has been considered and rejected. Petitioner was made accused under diverse sections of the Penal Code including Section 302 IPC. The occurrence has taken place on 1.1.2006. He was taken into custody same day i.e. 1.1.2006. For the first time it appears when the trial was midway he made an application claiming himself to be juvenile on the date of alleged occurrence. Such claim was raised on the strength of an entry in the school register, whereby it appears his date of birth was recorded as 3.4.1991. The learned court below called for the school register and on perusal whereof it was found that on one day several students were admitted in Class VI and their dates of birth were entered in the register on the basis of affidavit(s) filed by their fathers. Admitted position at the bar is that no birth certificate as such was produced before the court or before the school at the time of admission of the petitioner. Basis for the entry remained the affidavit filed by the father of the petitioner. Counsel appearing on behalf of the State raised - 2 - objection and it was submitted that in view of the facts appearing from record the entries made in the school register cannot be held to be a conclusive proof of the age of the accused. No weightage can be attached on such unauthenticated entry in the school register about the age of the accused. It appears the court below having found the entries in the school register unworthy of reliance constituted a Medical Board. The Board medically examined the petitioner and assessed his age between 19-20 years. It appears from the record that on the request of the petitioner a second Medical Board was constituted consisting of doctors of Professor rank under the orders of the court. The second Medical Board examined the petitioner and submitted its report on 16.12.2006, wherein the age of the petitioner was assessed between 20-22 years. The trial court in these factual background held even if the error of margin of two years is taken on either side the accused appears to be major. Accordingly, the court below refused to declare him juvenile. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits that the court was first obliged under law to accept the entries made in the school register which was the basis of the claim. In this regard, he placed reliance on the judgment rendered in the case of Ram Suresh Singh Vs. Prabhat Singh @ Chhotu and another reported in 2009(3) PLJR 27. This Court perused the judgment. The factual scenario appears to be different. In that case the date of birth certificate from the school was brought on record and was duly proved. The said document was not found to be forged, fabricated or - 3 - otherwise inadmissible in law. Here is the case, where neither the school register has been proved and brought on record nor there is a finding by the trial court that the same is a genuine document not brought in existence for the purpose getting benefit under Juvenile Justice Act. That apart it appears when the genuinity of the entries in the school register was challenged by the State the petitioner himself made a prayer for his examination by the Medical Board. The Medical Board examined him and submitted a report. On the request of the petitioner a second Medical Board was also constituted consisting of senior doctors of the Professor rank, which again assessed the age of the petitioner and found him to be major on the date of occurrence. Seen thus, this Court finds no merit in this application, which is, accordingly, dismissed. DKS/ (Kishore K. Mandal, J.)