Documentary proof of age prevails over medical opinion where pre-litigation birth and school records establish minority.

Documentary age proof from a municipal birth certificate, school record and school certificate, all recording the same date of birth long before the prosecution, was accepted as reliable evidence of minority. The mother's testimony supported those records, and the medical opinion estimating age at about 18 years did not outweigh the consistent pre-litigation documents. Records maintained in the regular course and made ante litem motam were treated as probative on the facts proved. The prosecutrix was therefore held to be a minor on the date of the incident, and the conviction for kidnapping and rape was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the prosecutrix was a minor on the date of the incident, so as to sustain the conviction for kidnapping and rape.

Analysis: The birth certificate issued by the municipality, the school record and the school certificate consistently recorded the date of birth as 30.3.1984. These entries were made long before the prosecution and were supported by the mother's evidence. The medical opinion estimating the age at about 18 years did not dislodge the documentary evidence. Entries in records maintained in the regular course and made ante litem motam were treated as reliable, and their probative value was accepted on the facts proved.

Conclusion: The prosecutrix was held to be a minor on the date of the incident, and the conviction was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Documentary age proof in the form of pre-litigation birth and school records, corroborated by testimony and admissible under the Evidence Act, can safely establish minority despite a contrary medical estimate.

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