In the matter of the Writ Petition concerning the petitioner’s detention at Central Jail, Agra, the Supreme Court on 9 October 2025, by a Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih, allowed the petition and directed the immediate release of the petitioner, holding that he was a juvenile at the time of the offence and that continued incarceration beyond the permissible period under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, violated his fundamental right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The Bench noted that the petitioner, born on 10 June 1969, was aged about 12 years at the time of the incident on 2 November 1981, when he was implicated under Sections 302/149, 147, and 148 of the IPC. While the Sessions Court had convicted the petitioner and others for murder, it had recognized his juvenile status under the Children’s Act, 1960, initially directing his placement in a children’s home rather than prison. The Supreme Court further observed that despite the petitioner’s abscondence and subsequent arrest in May 2022, no legal provision barred consideration of his juvenile status even at a later stage under Section 7-A of the JJ Act, 2000.
Relying on precedents including Pratap Singh v. State of Jharkhand, Vinod Katara v. State of Uttar Pradesh, and Dharambir v. State (NCT of Delhi), the Court reaffirmed that all persons below eighteen years at the time of the offence must be treated as juveniles, and detention exceeding the statutory limit amounts to illegal deprivation of liberty. The Bench concluded that no enquiry was required to ascertain the petitioner’s age, as it was undisputed, and the petitioner’s prolonged incarceration constituted a clear breach of Article 21.
Accordingly, the writ petition was allowed, and the Senior Superintendent, Central Jail, Varanasi, was directed to release the petitioner immediately if not wanted in any other case, without insisting on a certified copy of the judgment.
Takeaway: The Supreme Court reinforced that juvenile convicts are entitled to statutory protections irrespective of the passage of time, and detention beyond legal limits constitutes a violation of fundamental rights, mandating immediate relief even decades after the offence.
