Kolhapur: Bombay high court’s Kolhapur bench has granted bail to a youth accused in a 2023 murder case, observing that the seriousness of the offence alone cannot be grounds to deny bail to a child in conflict with law under the Juvenile Justice Act.
Justice Sharmila U Deshmukh passed the order on Oct 29, granting relief to the accused, who was 17 years and 11 months old when the crime took place on Oct 10, 2023. A 51-year-old man was allegedly attacked with an axe and knives and killed. The accused, then a Class XII student, had unsuccessfully sought bail four times before the sessions court, with the latest rejection coming in Oct 2025.
“The only exception can be found in the proviso that such person shall not be so released if there appear reasonable grounds for believing that the release is likely to bring that person into association with any known criminal or expose the said person to moral, physical, or psychological danger, or that the person’s release would defeat the ends of justice,” the court observed. “It is a well-settled principle that the application for bail under the Juvenile Justice Act cannot be rejected on the ground of the seriousness of the offence and the primary consideration is the welfare and rehabilitation of the child in conflict with law,” the court said. The youth has been lodged in an observation home since his detention and had spent more than three years in custody. The case stems from a dispute over ancestral property in a Kolhapur village that escalated into a violent clash. Police booked five people, including the juvenile, his father, grandfather, uncle and other relatives. The grandfather was subsequently granted bail on health grounds. The lower court accepted that argument and rejected the application. The accused later approached the high court through his maternal uncle. The court, however, noted that the law permits denial of bail to a juvenile only under specific circumstances.
Before the HC, the prosecution again urged the court to invoke the exceptions provided under the Juvenile Justice Act, citing the nature of the crime and surrounding circumstances.
Granting bail, Justice Deshmukh found no material to support the exceptions cited by the prosecution. “Though in the affidavit in reply, the exceptions are sought to be contended, this Court does not find any cogent material on the basis of which the exception can be carved out in the present case. The Applicant is behind bars since three years and one week, and the trauma of incarceration may hinder the future prospects of the Applicant,” the court observed.