19-year-old held in murder case released on bail after Delhi Court calls him a "neo-adult"

A 19-year-old youth facing murder charges was recently granted bail by a Delhi Court, which observed that though he wasn’t “quite a child in the eye of the law,” he was only a “neo-adult” [State v. Nikhil Kumar]..While agreeing with the prosecutor appearing in the matter that the applicant was not a child as he was 19 years of age, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Gogne of the Dwarka District Courts noted that the mental age of the accused may not necessarily be in line with the legislated age of maturity..“In fact, developmental psychologists would not deny that often the capacity to take decisions as an adult or comprehend in entirety, the consequences of actions of a violent nature, may not be fully developed in a person only because the law says that one ceases to be a child at age 18. The applicant, 19, is not quite a child in the eye of the law but yet is only a neo-adult,” the judge remarked..On September 11, 2020, a group of youngsters had attacked and injured two other youths, one of whom eventually died. The applicant in the case was stated to be one of the assailants. Advocates Avishkar Singhvi and Nipun Katyal, however, disagreed with the police’s contention and argued that their client wasn’t named in the First Information Report (FIR). They denied any “direct role” of the applicant, maintaining that his name cropped up in the supplementary statement of a witness four months after the incident. .The bail order interestingly referred to the significant changes in law post the Nirbhaya case dealing with children in the age group between 16 and 18 years who have been accused of heinous crimes. However, the Court noted,"The inconstancy of the law related to juveniles in India is not matched by any inconsistency in the principles governing bail.".The Court also referred to the multiple decisions of the Supreme Court and High Courts that have favoured release of young offenders on bail pending trial for them to avoid the regressive influences of the jail environment.“This court would propose that if a child (between the age 16 to 18 years) can be treated as an adult for the purpose of trial in heinous offences, a child who has just about crossed the legislated age of adulthood i.e. 18 years and remains a young adult (19-20 years) can certainly be afforded the protection of his liberty akin to a child in conflict with law,” it stated..The order reasoned that such young offenders could, therefore, be released on bail by not only honouring the principle of presumption of innocence, but also in recognition of the principle of “best interest” that might be extended to “neo-adults” from the juvenile justice regime.“If admitted to bail, the applicant, a student, might yet gainfully pursue his best interest till trial adjudicates upon his culpability,” the order underscored..The youngster was thus allowed reprieve on a personal bond and a surety of Rs 50,000 each..[Read the order]