The Bombay High Court directed the release of a 36-year-old man who spent 19 years in jail for raping a three-year-old child, after finding out that he was a minor at the time of the offence in 2005.
In December 2005, the man was found guilty of raping a three-year-old girl and sentenced to life imprisonment.
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In 2019, as he completed 14 years in jail, he approached the state government seeking release but the request was rejected.
He then approached the high court against the government’s decision. During the proceedings, he submitted to the court that he was 16 years old in 2005 and cited his school leaving certificate.
In July 2022, the court asked the state to verify it.
The police confirmed that the school was recognised by the state government of Uttar Pradesh and the headmaster of the primary school had issued the certificate.
“….on the date of the commission of the offence, i.e. 16th January 2005, he was aged about 16 years and 9 months, a juvenile and therefore provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, are squarely applicable to him,” the division bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Shyam Chandak said in the order passed last month and made available recently.