Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Aug 7
A court in north Kashmir’s Uri has dismissed a chargesheet against a juvenile in a case involving an alleged attempt to commit suicide, ruling that investigators had failed to comply with mandatory safeguards under juvenile justice and mental healthcare laws.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Mahmud Anwar Al-Nasir found that school records showed the accused was born on April 3, 2007, making her 16 years and nine months old when the alleged incident occurred on Jan. 14, 2024.
The court said she therefore should have been treated as a child in conflict with the law.
The juvenile had been booked under provisions of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code relating to an attempt to commit suicide and destruction of evidence.
The court criticised the investigation for failing to establish her age at the outset and for proceeding against her before a regular court.
It also noted that her name appeared in the chargesheet and statements and that she had been arrested despite being a juvenile.
The court said there was no medical opinion on record explaining the examination of the juvenile, despite her referral to GMC Baramulla. It also noted that the bottle allegedly used in the incident had not been recovered and that the prosecution had not established a motive.
Referring to the Mental Healthcare Act, the court said a person attempting suicide is presumed to be under severe stress and should ordinarily receive care, treatment and rehabilitation rather than criminal punishment, subject to the statutory exceptions.
The court also examined Section 224 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which criminalises an attempt to commit suicide when made with the intention of compelling or restraining a public servant from performing official duties. It found that the case before it did not fall within that category.
The court concluded that investigators had failed to comply with the relevant provisions of the Mental Healthcare Act and Juvenile Justice Act and dismissed the chargesheet.
It directed police to erase the juvenile’s medico-legal stamp from the case record, maintain confidentiality and remove the proceedings from police records, holding that such records should not be retained against a juvenile.
