Rajasthan High Court asks lower courts to apply Juvenile Justice Rules to determine age of child

The Rajasthan High Court while hearing a revision petition has held that Juvenile Justice (Care And Protection Of Children) Model Rules, 2016 can be referred while determining the age of the child irrespective of the date of happening of the incident. The petition being challenged was to determine whether the child in concern was covered within the ambit of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.It was alleged that to determine the correct age of the child, only his school register was being considered and not his school marksheet or any equivalent document. The court while upholding this contention observed that a birth certificate from the school along with a matriculation certificate would also be required. The lower court had erred by not taking into consideration all the relevant documents to determine the legal age. By doing so, the court was contravening section 94 of the 2016 Model Rules. The High Court has therefore allowed the revision petition, directing the lower court to hear the matter afresh in consonance with the Juvenile Justice (Care And Protection Of Children) Model Rules, 2016.