Supreme Court orders resentencing of 53-year-old under Juvenile Justice Act after school records prove he was 16 during the offense.
New Delhi, July 26, 2025
In an extraordinary pronouncement, the Supreme Court of India concluded that a 53-year-old rape convict must be resentenced as a juvenile as he was under 18 when he committed the crime in 1988. Evidence supplied during the course of the appeal, such as the school records, confirmed that his birthday was July 1, 1972 which confirms he was 16 years old when he raped a minor in Ajmer Rajasthan.
The judgment, handed down a bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, set aside findings and decisions by lower courts and established that claims of juvenility can be taken at any point during the process, even many years after conviction. The court noted and found that the man was guilty of the crime, relying upon evidence supplied by the prosecution including both the testimony of the survivor and medical records, but emphasized the importance of the individual’s age at the time of the crime under law.
The case will now be transferred to the Juvenile Justice Board, where sentencing will be carried out in accordance with the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which limits the maximum punishment to three years in a special home for juvenile offenders.
In an extraordinary pronouncement, the Supreme Court of India concluded that a 53-year-old rape convict must be resentenced as a juvenile as he was under 18 when he committed the crime in 1988. Evidence supplied during the course of the appeal, such as the school records, confirmed that his birthday was July 1, 1972 which confirms he was 16 years old when he raped a minor in Ajmer Rajasthan.
The judgment, handed down a bench led by Chief Justice B.R. Gavai, set aside findings and decisions by lower courts and established that claims of juvenility can be taken at any point during the process, even many years after conviction. The court noted and found that the man was guilty of the crime, relying upon evidence supplied by the prosecution including both the testimony of the survivor and medical records, but emphasized the importance of the individual’s age at the time of the crime under law.
