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Makkella Nagaiah vs The State of Andhra Pradesh

Writ Petition (Crl.) · 2023 INSC 800Decided 5 Sept 2023
Writ Petition (Crl.) No. 429 of 2022
B.R. Gavai · Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha · Sanjay Kumar

Background

For an incident in December 2005, the petitioner was convicted along with others for murder and sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in 2009; the Andhra Pradesh High Court upheld the conviction in 2014, and the Supreme Court dismissed his further appeal (SLP) in 2022, making the conviction final. Two months later, the petitioner filed this writ petition claiming he was actually a juvenile at the time of the offence and seeking benefits under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000. The Court noted that a juvenility claim can be raised at any stage of proceedings, even after conviction has become final, and directed a fact-finding inquiry.

Decision Breakdown

On the Court's direction, the Additional Sessions Judge, Khammam, examined school records and witness evidence and concluded that the petitioner's date of birth was 02.05.1989, making him about 16 years and 7 months old on the date of the crime. Hence a juvenile at the time. Under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, a juvenile could be detained for a maximum of three years, but because his juvenility was raised only after conviction, he ended up serving over 12 years in prison. Accepting the inquiry report, the Supreme Court held the petitioner could not be kept in custody any longer and ordered his immediate release.

Lesson Learnt

A claim of juvenility can be raised at any point, even years after a conviction has become final, and if proven, the person cannot be held beyond the maximum period the Juvenile Justice Act allows, regardless of how much time has already passed in the ordinary criminal process.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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