In a first instance in rape cases, the Juvenile Justice Board here on Wednesday asked a child in conflict with law (CCL) to face trial as an adult for allegedly kidnapping and gang-raping a minor along with his friends in March this year.
The Board transferred the case to a Sessions court on the basis of a report submitted to it by experts tasked to preliminarily assess the mental and physical capacity of the delinquent juvenile to commit the crime.
Transferring the case, the Board said: “[We are] of the considered view that there is a need for the trial of the child in conflict with law as an adult.” The Board has quoted extensively from the preliminary assessment report submitted by the experts and the prosecutrix statements to arrive at the decision to transfer the case to the Sessions court.
“A perusal of the records viz. statements of the prosecutrix, also reveal that the CCL meticulously and in a planed manner committed the alleged offence,” the Board said.
‘Particularly planned’The psychologist in the preliminary assessment report said: “The CCL had particularly planned the circumstances that led to the situation which could be the ground for crime.”
“Though one of the inferences/conclusions of the preliminary assessment report is to the effect that that the CCL was immature and lacked decision-making, and that it was inferred that the child does not have knowledge about the consequences of the act, a complete perusal thereof would reveal that the CCL was not under the influence of the above-mentioned factors to such an extent as to impair his normal faculties,” the Board said in its order.
“As per the physical, mental and drug assessment report, it was inferred that the CCL was manipulative regarding his on-going case. Information shared by CCL was inadequate and non-reliable,” the order further said. “The CCL did not suffer from any hallucination, delusion or any thought/perception dysfunction as per his mental status examination,” the report said.
Counsel for the CCL opposed the psychologist’s opinions saying that they were pre-motivated, arbitrary and incomplete. He sought rejection of the opinions. The Board also rejected the contention by the counsel for the CCL that he had a consensual relationship with the girl, saying that “there is not an iota of evidence on record that would lend credence to the assertion.”
The accused had kidnapped the victim outside her school where she had gone to inquire about her class XI results. He then took her to Noida, made her to drink beer and raped her in a room there. Later, the CCL dumped her near Ghonda Chowk in northeast Delhi, according to the complaint lodged with the Bhajanpura Police.
