Bail can be denied to juvenile accused if release likely to defeat ends of justice: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court on Friday denied bail to a 15-year-old boy accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl, while observing that a juvenile's bail plea can be denied if his release is likely to defeat the ends of justice [X v. State of UP]..Justice Jyotsna Sharma dismissed a plea seeking revision of an order of the Juvenile Justice Board and Special Judge declining bail to the boy booked for rape."The law does not say that once a person is found a juvenile, he should be released on bail notwithstanding other facts and circumstances of the matter. It may be noted that the bail can also be denied if juvenile’s release, in the opinion of the Court, would defeat the ends of justice," the Court held..The Court added that the phrase "ends of justice" is a meaningful phrase bringing within its meaning many factors including the nature of the crime and merits of the matter, even though ordinarily merits of the case or the nature of the accusations are not to be considered. "At the same time, there may be other facts and circumstances which cannot simply be passed over by the court concerned...It can safely be remarked that the scheme of the Act takes into consideration the nature of the offence as well." .The case at hand arose when a first information report (FIR) was lodged by the mother of the victim alleging that her six-year-old daughter was lured by the accused on the pretext of giving a toffee and raped..Finding that the accused was a juvenile, the matter was brought before the Juvenile Justice Board and the District Probation Officer opined that the boy required strict control and supervision. In light of this, bail was declined by the Juvenile Justice Board and an appeal against this decision was also dismissed by the special judge in trial court. Thereby, the revision petition was filed before the High Court..Considering the case, it was recorded that the ends of justice may compel the court to strike a balance between competing and often conflicting demands of justice from both parties. "When viewing the case from this angle, the nature of the crime, the methodology adopted, the manner of commission and the evidence available may assume ample significance," the Court observed..Justice Sharma said that the phrase "ends of justice" meant that the matter of bail had to be seen through a prism of three angles - Firstly, the angle of welfare and betterment of the child itself that is the best interest of the child.Secondly, the demands of justice to the victim and her family. Thirdly, the concerns of society at large. "And in the end, the court has to depend upon its own robust sense of justice," the judge said. .The single-judge went on to consider the trauma and shock caused to an innocent girl who had no understanding or hint of the act. Therefore, noting that the victim was enticed in a well-planned manner, the petition by the accused was dismissed with a direction to the Juvenile Justice Board to expedite the hearing and conclude it at the earliest..The accused was represented by Advocate Satendra Singh while the State was represented by Advocate Mukesh Kumar Maurya..[Read Order]