Juvenility claim and school records can conclusively prove age after statutory inquiry under the juvenile justice framework.

A claim of juvenility may be raised at any stage and must be tested through the inquiry prescribed by Section 7A of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 read with Rule 12 of the 2007 Rules. For age determination, the certificate of the first attended school is primary evidence and, when duly verified and corroborated, can constitute conclusive proof of age. On the stated facts, school records and transfer certificates showed a date of birth of 12.07.1984, placing the appellant below 18 years on the date of the offence. The contrary view was rejected because it was not based on the statutory inquiry procedure, and the appellant was treated as a juvenile entitled to protection under the Act.

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Issues: Whether the appellant was a juvenile on the date of the offence and entitled to the benefit of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.

Analysis: The claim of juvenility can be raised at any stage and must be determined by an inquiry under Section 7A of the 2000 Act read with Rule 12 of the 2007 Rules. For age determination, the certificate from the school first attended is primary evidence, and where such material is duly verified and corroborated, it constitutes conclusive proof of age. The inquiry directed by the Court through the Registrar (Judicial) was scrutinised and accepted as an inquiry undertaken on behalf of the Court. The school records and transfer certificates established the appellant's date of birth as 12.07.1984, making him below 18 years on the date of the offence. The contrary view taken by the High Court was not based on the statutory inquiry procedure.

Conclusion: The appellant was a juvenile on the date of the offence and was entitled to the protection of the 2000 Act.

Final Conclusion: The conviction and sentence could not be sustained against a person found to be juvenile at the time of the offence, and the appellant was ordered to be released forthwith if not required in any other case.

Ratio Decidendi: A duly verified school certificate from the first attended school, when accepted after a statutory inquiry under Section 7A and Rule 12, is conclusive proof of age and overrides a contrary finding not based on the prescribed inquiry procedure.

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