Juvenile protection under the 2000 Act applies to pending cases only if the accused was still under 18 on 1.4.2001.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 operates prospectively from 1.4.2001 and creates only a limited statutory fiction for pending proceedings under the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986. That fiction applies only where the accused had not completed 18 years of age on the commencement date; it does not give retrospective protection to a person who had already crossed 18 before 1.4.2001. On that basis, the respondent could not claim the benefit of the 2000 Act and the pending matter had to be dealt with under the earlier law.

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Issues: Whether a person who was above 16 years of age on the date of offence, but whose case was pending on 1.4.2001, could claim the benefit of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 notwithstanding the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986.

Analysis: The Act of 2000 came into force prospectively from 1.4.2001. The earlier Act of 1986 governed juvenile status by the age of the offender on the date of offence, while the later Act extended juvenile protection up to 18 years and created a limited legal fiction under Section 20 for pending proceedings. That fiction operates only where the accused was below 18 years on the date the 2000 Act commenced. The protection is not retrospective in an absolute sense and does not apply where the accused had already crossed 18 years before 1.4.2001.

Conclusion: The respondent could not claim the benefit of the 2000 Act because he had completed 18 years of age before 1.4.2001; the case had to be dealt with under the law laid down for such pending matters.

Ratio Decidendi: The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 applies to pending cases under the 1986 Act only if the accused had not completed 18 years of age on 1.4.2001.

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