Flawed Trial: Karnataka HC Slams Sessions Court For Treating Juvenile As Adult In Murder Case

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has quashed the order of the Sessions Court, which had tried and sentenced a person to life imprisonment after wrongly considering him as an adult even though he was a minor in a 2011 murder case. It has also directed his release after serving 13 years in jail.

The High Court has also said that although the conviction for the crime committed by the accused was correct, the sentence is being quashed as he is a juvenile and has directed the Juvenile Justice Board to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000.

A bench of Justice S. Suneet Datta Yadav and Justice Ramachandra D. Huddar heard the petition filed by Channappa of Yadgir, who was convicted in the murder case of his sister's husband.

The bench said that the action of the Sessions Court, which wrongly considered the juvenile as an adult and sentenced him to life imprisonment, was illegal.

The trial in this case was flawed from the beginning, the High Court Bench observed. The authorities should identify juvenile offenders at the first stage by strictly following the prescribed rules. If there is any doubt about the age of the offender, the magistrate court should verify it again while ordering his arrest, the bench said.

The petitioner has already served 13 years in prison for murder. Therefore, there is no need for a fresh hearing by the Juvenile Justice Board under Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. The bench directed the board to pay a compensation of Rs. 50,000 as per Rule 6 of the Karnataka State Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.

Background of the case:

Bheemaraya had married the sister of the petitioner, Channappa, against the wishes of his family. Angered by this, 16-year-old Chennappa, along with another accused, Saibanna, murdered Bheemaraya in April 2011 at Halisagar in Yadgir district.

Another accused, Saibanna, died in the incident before the trial of the case was completed. Thus, the charges against Saibanna were dropped.

The Yadgir Sessions Court, which had tried the case, considered Channappa an adult and, after conducting a trial, sentenced him to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2,000 in 2018.

Channappa had filed a petition in the High Court challenging this sentence and requested that the sentence be quashed.