Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh v. State of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Stati
Case Details
1 ROHIT KUMAR CHANDRA Digitally signed by ROHIT KUMAR CHANDRA 2025:CGHC:19204-DB NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CRA No. 1071 of 2023 Raushan @ Vicky Patel S/o Dhanna Lal Patel Aged About 25 Years R/o Mathal Dabri, Police Station Dongargaon, District : Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh ... Appellant(s) versus State of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station Serla, District : Bemetara, Chhattisgarh ...Respondent(s) For Appellant For Respondent/State : : Ms. Sareena Khan, Advocate. Mr. Hariom Rai, Panel Lawyer. Hon'ble Shri Shri Hon'ble Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi , Judge Judgment on Board Per Ramesh Sinha , Chief Justice 29 .0 4. 202 5 1. 2. Heard Ms. Sareena Khan, learned counsel for the appellant. Also heard Mr. Hariom Rai, learned Panel Lawyer, appearing for the respondent/State. This criminal appeal filed by the appellant/accused under Section 374(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, 2 ‘Cr.P.C.’) is directed against the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 14.10.2022, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge (FTSC) (POCSO Act), Bemetara, District Bemetara (C.G.) in Session Case No. 12 of 2021, whereby the appellant has been convicted and sentenced as under : Conviction under Section Sentence Since sentence under :R.I. for 20 years and fine of Rs. 1,000/-, in default of payment of fine, 02 months additional R.I. Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) is greater than the sentence under Section 376(2)(j)(n) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), therefore, as per Section 42 of the POCSO Act, the appellant is sentenced under Section 06 of POCSO Act. 3. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the victim herself appeared at the Berla Police Station on 30.06.2021 and lodged a written report to the effect that her date of birth is 15.06.2005, she was studying in the Class 11th in the year 2021 in village Pirda while staying with her maternal grandparents. Her mother (PW-2) lives in village Khapri, who is a nursing staff with a Doctor in Ahiwara. A person called her mobile number 9300093670, then when she did not pick up the phone, he kept calling her again and 3 again, after that when she picked up the phone, he said that ‘he like her, he want to talk to her’, then she did not pay attention and blocked the number. Even after that, he started calling and messaging from another number, then once the victim talked to him, he said that he wanted to meet her, to which the victim refused, after that he again said that ‘if not then he will come to her house, he will tell her mother’, then the victim got very scared and went to the meet the accused. On 16.05.2021 at around 1:00 p.m., the accused forcefully had physical relations with her and started kissing her, held her hand, he was doing everything forcefully even when the victim said no. Then the victim got so scared that she left from there. She blocked the accused's number, even after that the accused was messaging her to talk to him. When she said that she would not talk, the accused started threatening her that he would call her mother, he would come to her house and started abusing the victim's mother and sister, he said that he would ruin her, he had made a video of her and he will leak it. The accused used to tell his name as Vicky, but in the caller of the mobile, his name used to come as Raushan Patel. In this way, the accused started blackmailing the victim. On the basis of the written report of the victim, a case No. 245 of 2021 was registered against the accused at Berla Police Station under Section 376 of the IPC and Sections 4 & 6 of the POCSO Act. 4. On the basis of written complaint of the victim, the Investigating
Facts
Officer, Sub-Inspector Anand Komra (PW-3), recorded the First 4 Information Report vide Ex.P/16 and prepared a site map of the incident, and the victim's Class IX mark-sheet was seized. During the investigation, due to the addition of the Atrocity Act in the case, the case diary was handed over to the SDOP for investigation. The Investigating Officer, after obtaining consent from the victim and her family, sent the victim to the Community Health Center Berla for examination. The accused was also sent to Community Health Center Berla for examination. The admission and dismissal register was seized from the concerned school regarding the victim's date of birth. The Investigating Officer made a complaint to the women's cell for the statement of the prosecutor, and the victim's statement was recorded by a woman officer and the statements of the witnesses were taken as per their instructions. For recording the statement of the victim under Section 164 of the Cr.P.C., a memo (Ex.P/27) was made to the concerned Magistrate and the victim's statement was recorded. A memo was sent to the Tehsildar for preparing a map of the incident site from the Patwari. The temporary status certificate of the victim was seized from the victim's father, according to which the victim belongs to the Satnami, Scheduled Caste. The Investigating Officer arrested the accused and prepared an arrest slip vide Ex.P/14 and informed the family of the accused about his arrest. The seized property was sent to the State Forensic Laboratory, Raipur through the Superintendent of Police for chemical testing. 5. After completing the investigation, the charge-sheet was filed 5 before the learned Additional Sessions Judge (FTSC) (POCSO Act), Bemetara, District Bemetara (C.G.) under Sections 376, 506 of the IPC and Sections 3(1)(b)(ii), 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and Sections 4 & 6 of the POCSO Act and the case was registered as Session Case No. 12 of 2021. The statements of witnesses were recorded. 6. Learned trial Court framed charges for the offences punishable under Sections 376(2)(j)(n), 376(3) of the IPC and Sections 3(1) (b)(ii), 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 and Sections 4 & 6 of the POCSO Act against the appellant. 7. In order to establish the charges against the appellant, the prosecution examined as many as 09 witnesses and exhibited 36 documents. The statement of the appellant under Section 313 of the Cr.P.C. was also recorded, in which he denied the materials appearing against him and stated that he is innocent and he has been falsely implicated in the case. After appreciation of evidence available on record, the learned trial Court has convicted the accused/appellant and sentenced him as mentioned in paragraph-2 of the judgment. Hence, this appeal. 8. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the impugned judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed by the learned trial Court is bad in law. There is no evidence against the 6 appellant and the case of the prosecution is based on surmises, so the appeal be allowed and the appellant be acquitted. She further submits that the learned trial Court has erred in believing the statement of the victim because there is large number of contradictions amongst the statement of the prosecution witnesses. She also submits that there is an unexplained delay of 40 days in lodging the FIR, which shows that story of the victim is concocted. She would next submit that age of the victim was not proved to be minor as per the law and the medical report does not support the case of the victim and the statement of the victim recorded under Section 164 of the Cr.P.C. also not exhibited before the trial Court. As such, the appeal deserves to be allowed and the impugned judgment deserves to be set aside. 9. On the other hand, learned State counsel opposes the
Legal Reasoning
(2) The court or the Board or as the case may be the Committee shall decide the juvenility or otherwise of the juvenile or the child or as the case may be the juvenile in conflict with law, prima facie on the basis of physical appearance 8 or documents, if available, and send him to the observation home or in jail. (3) In every case concerning a child or juvenile in conflict with law, the age determination inquiry shall be conducted by the court or the Board or, as the case may be, the Committee by seeking evidence by obtaining – (a) (i) the matriculation or equivalent certificates, if available; and in the absence whereof; (ii) the date of birth certificate from the school (other than a play school) first attended; and in the absence whereof; (iii) the birth certificate given by a corporation or a municipal authority or a panchayat; (b) and only in the absence of either (i), (ii) or (iii) of clause (a) above, the medical opinion will be sought from a duly constituted Medical Board, which will declare the age of the juvenile or child. In case exact assessment of the age cannot be done, the Court or the Board or, as the case may be, the Committee, for the reasons to be recorded by them, may, if considered necessary, give benefit to the child or juvenile by considering his/her age on lower side within the margin of one year. and, while passing orders in such case shall, after taking into consideration such evidence as may be available, or the medical opinion, as the case may be, record a finding in respect of his age and either of the evidence specified in any of the clauses (a)(i), (ii), (iii) or in the absence whereof, clause (b) shall be the conclusive proof of the age as regards such child or the juvenile in conflict with law. (4) If the age of a juvenile or child or the juvenile in conflict with law is found to be below 18 years on the date of offence, on the basis of any of the conclusive proof specified in sub-rule (3), the court or the Board or as the case may be the Committee shall in writing pass an order stating the age and declaring the status of juvenility or otherwise, for the purpose of the Act and these 9 rules and a copy of the order shall be given to such juvenile or the person concerned. (5) Save and except where, further inquiry or otherwise is required, inter alia, in terms of section 7A, section 64 of the Act and these rules, no further inquiry shall be conducted by the court or the Board after examining and obtaining the certificate or any other documentary proof referred to in sub-rule (3) of this rule. (6) The provisions contained in this rule shall also apply to those disposed off cases, where the status of juvenility has not been determined in accordance with the provisions contained in sub- rule(3) and the Act, requiring dispensation of the sentence under the Act for passing appropriate order in the interest of the juvenile in conflict with law.” 23. Even though Rule 12 is strictly applicable only to determine the age of a child in conflict with law, we are of the view that the aforesaid statutory provision should be the basis for determining age, even for a child who is a victim of crime. For, in our view, there is hardly any difference in so far as the issue of minority is concerned, between a child in conflict with law, and a child who is a victim of crime. Therefore, in our considered opinion, it would be just and appropriate to apply Rule 12 of the 2007 Rules, to determine the age of the prosecutrix VW- PW6. The manner of determining age conclusively, has been expressed in sub-rule (3) of Rule 12 extracted above. Under the aforesaid provision, the age of a child is ascertained, by adopting the first available basis, out of a number of options postulated in Rule 12(3). If, in the scheme of options under Rule 12(3), an option is expressed in a preceding clause, it has overriding effect over an option expressed in a subsequent clause. The highest rated option available, would conclusively determine the age of a minor. In the scheme of Rule 12(3), matriculation (or equivalent) certificate of the 10 concerned child, is the highest rated option. In case, the said certificate is available, no other evidence can be relied upon. Only in the absence of the said certificate, Rule 12(3), envisages consideration of the date of birth entered, in the school first attended by the child. In case such an entry of date of birth is available, the date of birth depicted therein is liable to be treated as final and conclusive, and no other material is to be relied upon. Only in the absence of such entry, Rule 12(3) postulates reliance on a birth certificate issued by a corporation or a municipal authority or a panchayat. Yet again, if such a certificate is available, then no other material whatsoever is to be taken into consideration, for determining the age of the child concerned, as the said certificate would conclusively determine the age of the child. It is only in the absence of any of the aforesaid, that Rule 12(3) postulates the determination of age of the concerned child, on the basis of medical opinion.” 14. In the present case, as per case of the prosecution, the date of birth of the victim is 15.06.2005, on this basis at the time of incident, the victim was minor below the age of 18 years. To substantiate this fact, prosecution has presented Admission- Discharge register (Ex.P/4C) of Class 9th of Higher Secondary School, Bhimbhouri, Thana Berla, District Bemetara (C.G.). The Admission-Discharge register (Ex.P/4C), have been proved by the Lecturer, Bharat Kumar Naidu (PW-1) of the said school. This witness has clearly deposed in his deposition that in the Admission-Discharge register (Ex.P/4C) information with regard to victim has been noted that she was admitted in Class 9 th on 04.06.2019. He has also stated that as per this Register, the date 11 of birth of victim is 15.06.2005. Therefore, there is no reason to disbelieve the date of birth of the victim as 15.06.2005 hence, we are of the considered opinion that the trial Court has rightly held that the victim was minor below the age of 18 years. 15. The next question for consideration before us is whether the appellant has committed penetrative sexual assault by having sexual intercourse with the victim, being a minor girl, without her free will and consent ? 16. In this regard, the victim (PW-3), stated in her deposition that she knew the accused Raushan alias Vicky Patel since last Holi. The accused used to call her and also send messages. Her date of birth is 15.06.2005 and she was studying in 11th class and belong to the Satnami community and is a member of the Scheduled Caste. Since her father died, she was studying while staying with her maternal grandparents. Her mother works as a nurse in a private clinic. Around the festival of Holi last year, she used to get calls on her mobile from an unknown number. The caller used to tell her his name as Vicky, but in True Caller his name was shown as Raushan Patel. She further stated that when she got a call from that boy named Vicky for the first time, he said that ‘he like her and want to talk to her’. Thereafter, she blocked that number, but accused started calling her from other numbers. Vicky used to repeatedly tell her on the phone that he likes her and used to ask her to meet. When she refused to meet him, he threatened her that he would tell her mother and family members and come to 12 her house. Due to repeated phone calls and threats of telling family members, victim went to village's Gothan on 16.05.2021 to meet accused Vicky, then he started kissing the victim and forcefully made physical relation with her. The victim does not tell the above things to her family due to fear. After the said incident, the accused used to call the victim continuously from different numbers and pressurize her to meet him and on her refusal, he threatened to make the video viral and tell everything to the family members of the victim. About two to three days after the accused had physical relations for the first time, the accused called the victim again to the same Gothan, then when she went there due to fear, the accused again had physical relation with the victim. After that the accused stopped talking to victim on the phone. After about a month the accused called the mother of the victim and abused her. When her mother asked the victim, she told her everything about the incident. Then they came to the police station to lodge a report. She had submitted a written complaint (Ex.P/15) in Berla police station. On the basis of which an FIR (Ex.P/16) was registered in the police station. The policemen and the patwari had made a spot map after interrogating her. The spot map Exs.P-05 and 06 were prepared. The policemen had seized school progress report, underwear and Scheduled Caste certificate of the victim vide Ex.P/7. 17. The mother (PW-2) of the victim, stated in her deposition that she did not knew the accused, Raushan. Her daughter's date of birth 13 is 15.06.2005, and she was studying in 11th standard. They belong to the Satnami community and are members of the Scheduled Caste. Due to the death of her husband, the victim resided with her maternal parents and studying, and she was working as a nurse in a private clinic. About one or two days before the FIR was registered, she received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as Vicky Patel and claimed to have a relationship with her daughter, stating they had physical relations. He threatened to report this to the Police and tell everyone about it, while also abusing her on the phone. Thereafter, when she spoke to her daughter about the incident, she told her that Vicky Patel had been harassing her with phone calls, threatening to come to their house and reveal everything if she didn't comply. The victim also mentioned that after she blocked his number, he continued to call her from different numbers. Furthermore, she stated that Vicky Patel had called her to the village's Gothan, threatened her, and raped her. Following this disclosure, they went to the Police Station to lodge a report. The Police and the Patwari prepared a spot map (Ex.P/5 and Ex.P/06) after interrogating them. The police also seized her daughter's school progress report, underwear, and Scheduled Caste certificate, vide Exs.P/07, P/8, and P/9. Article A-1 refers to the Scheduled Caste Certificate, and Article A-2 is the progress report. After obtaining the consent from her, the Police arranged the medical examination of the victim. The police seized the Dakhil Kharij 14 Register document from the school principal in her presence vide Ex.P/2. 18. Dr. Monisha Nayar (PW-9), the medical officer who has examined the victim, has deposed that on 30.06.2021, the 16-year-old victim was presented before her for examination at around 9:30 p.m. by Lady Constable No. 6, America Patel from outpost Kandarka. She had taken written consent from the victim and her family before examining the victim. The number of teeth of the victim was 12 on the upper and 12 on the lower side. There were no injury marks on the external physical examination of the victim. In the internal physical examination of the victim, she did not find any external injury in the victim's genitals. The victim's hymen was torn. The victim's secondary sexual characteristics were fully developed. The victim told her that her first menstruation came at the age of 13 and her last menstruation was on 07.06.2021. When the victim was brought before her for examination, her BP and pulse were normal. She was mentally healthy and was answering the questions after understanding them. She took two slides of the victim's vaginal smear and two swabs for chemical examination and sealed them. In her opinion, after examining the victim, she did not find any signs of forced sexual intercourse with her. On the same date and by the same lady constable, a packet wrapped in a white paper along with the written complaint was presented to her for investigation. On opening the said packet, there was an old used brown underwear in it, in which white stains 15 already formed at two places were underlined with a red ink pen. She sealed the said underwear and handed it over again to the same constable, advising her to conduct a chemical examination. 19. Dr. G.K. Mandle (PW-8), who has examined the accused, had stated that on general examination he found that the accused was normal and his mental condition was also normal. His secondary sexual characteristics were fully developed. Cremastic reflex was present, there was no injury on his body and smegma was absent. According to his opinion, the accused was capable to commit sexual intercourse. The report given him is Ex.P/35. 20. In the Indian society refusal to act on the testimony of the victim of sexual assault in the absence of corroboration as a rule, is adding insult to injury. A girl or a woman in the tradition bound non- permissive society of India would be extremely reluctant even to admit that any incident which is likely to reflect on her chastity had ever occurred. She would be conscious of the danger of being ostracized by the society and when in the face of these factors the crime is brought to light, there is inbuilt assurance that the charge is genuine rather than fabricated. Just as a witness who has sustained an injury, which is not shown or believed to be self- inflicted, is the best witness in the sense that he is least likely to exculpate the real offender, the evidence of a victim of sex offence is entitled to great weight, absence of corroboration notwithstanding. A woman or a girl who is raped is not an accomplice. Corroboration is not the sine qua non for conviction in 16 a rape case. The observations of Vivian Bose, J. in Rameshwar v. The State of Rajasthan, reported in (AIR 1952 SC 54) were: “The rule, which according to the cases has hardened into one of law, is not that corroboration is essential before there can be a conviction but that the necessity of corroboration, as a matter of prudence, except where the circumstances make it safe to dispense with it, must be present to the mind of the judge.…” 21. Crime against women in general and rape in particular is on the increase. It is an irony that while we are celebrating women's rights in all spheres, we show little or no concern for her honour. It is a sad reflection on the attitude of indifference of the society towards the violation of human dignity of the victims of sex crimes. We must remember that a rapist not only violates the victim's privacy and personal integrity, but inevitably causes serious psychological as well as physical harm in the process. Rape is not merely a physical assault - it is often destructive of the whole personality of the victim. A murderer destroys the physical body of his victim, a rapist degrades the very soul of the helpless female. The Court, therefore, shoulders a great responsibility while trying an accused on charges of rape. They must deal with such cases with utmost sensitivity. The Courts should examine the broader probabilities of a case and not get swayed by minor contradictions or insignificant discrepancies in the statement of the victim, which are not of a fatal nature, to throw out an otherwise reliable 17 prosecution case. If evidence of the victim inspires confidence, it must be relied upon without seeking corroboration of her statement in material particulars. If for some reason the Court finds it difficult to place implicit reliance on her testimony, it may look for evidence which may lend assurance to her testimony, short of corroboration required in the case of an accomplice. The testimony of the victim must be appreciated in the background of the entire case and the trial Court must be alive to its responsibility and be sensitive while dealing with cases involving sexual molestation. This position was highlighted in State of Punjab v. Gurmeet Singh, reported in (1996) 2 SCC 384. 22. A victim of a sex offence cannot be put on par with an accomplice. She is in fact a victim of the crime. The Evidence Act nowhere says that her evidence cannot be accepted unless it is corroborated in material particulars. She is undoubtedly a competent witness under Section 118 and her evidence must receive the same weight as is attached to an injured in cases of physical violence. The same degree of care and caution must attach in the evaluation of her evidence as in the case of an injured complainant or witness and no more. What is necessary is that the Court must be conscious of the fact that it is dealing with the evidence of a person who is interested in the outcome of the charge levelled by her. If the Court keeps this in mind and feels satisfied that it can act on the evidence of the victim. There is no rule of law or practice incorporated in the Indian Evidence Act, 18 1872 (in short ‘Evidence Act’) similar to illustration (b) to Section 114 which requires it to look for corroboration. If for some reason the Court is hesitant to place implicit reliance on the testimony of the victim it may look for evidence which may lend assurance to her testimony short of corroboration required in the case of an accomplice. The nature of evidence required to lend assurance to the testimony of the victim must necessarily depend on the facts and circumstances of each case. But, if a victim is an adult and of full understanding the Court is entitled to base a conviction on her evidence unless the same is own to be infirm and not trustworthy. If the totality of the circumstances appearing on the record of the case discloses that the victim does not have a strong motive to falsely involve the person charged, the Court should ordinarily have no hesitation in accepting her evidence. 23. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Ranjit Hazarika v. State of Assam, reported in AIR 1998 SC 635 has held that the evidence of a victim of sexual assault stands almost on a par with the evidence of an injured witness and to an extent is even more reliable. It must not be overlooked that a woman or a girl subjected to sexual assault is not an accomplice to the crime, but is a victim of another person’s lust and it is improper and undesirable to test her evidence with a certain amount of suspicion, treating her as if she were an accomplice. 24. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Rai Sandeep @ Deenu v. State of NCT of Delhi, reported in (2012) 8 SCC 21 19 held as under:- “In our considered opinion, the ‘sterling witness’ should be of a very high quality and caliber whose version should, therefore, be unassailable. The Court considering the version of such witness should be in a position to accept it for its face value without any hesitation. To test the quality of such a witness, the status of the witness would be immaterial and what would be relevant is the truthfulness of the statement made by such a witness. What would be more relevant would be the consistency of the statement right from the starting point till the end, namely, at the time when the witness makes the initial statement and ultimately before the Court. It should be natural and consistent with the case of the prosecution qua the accused. There should not be any prevarication in the version of such a witness. The witness should be in a position to withstand the cross-examination of any length and howsoever strenuous it may be and under no circumstance should give room for any doubt as to the factum of the occurrence, the persons involved, as well as, the sequence of it. Such a version should have co-relation with each and everyone of other supporting material such as the recoveries made, the weapons used, the manner of offence committed, the scientific evidence and the expert opinion. The said version should consistently match with the version of every other witness. It can even be stated that it should be akin to the test applied in the case of circumstantial evidence where there should not be any missing link in the chain of circumstances to hold the accused guilty of the offence alleged against him. Only if the version of such a witness qualifies the 20 above test as well as all other similar such tests to be applied, it can be held that such a witness can be called as a ‘sterling witness’ whose version can be accepted by the Court without any corroboration and based on which the guilty can be punished. To be more precise, the version of the said witness on the core spectrum of the crime should remain intact while all other attendant materials, namely, oral, documentary and material objects should match the said version in material particulars in order to enable the Court trying the offence to rely on the core version to sieve the other supporting materials for holding the offender guilty of the charge alleged.” 25. Applying the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the cases (supra) to the facts of the case on hand and as observed hereinabove, we see no reason to doubt the credibility and/or trustworthiness of the victim. They are found to be reliable and trustworthy. Therefore, without any further corroboration, the conviction of the accused relying upon the sole testimony of the victims can be sustained. 26. The view taken by the learned trial Court that the appellant is the author of the crime is a pure finding of fact based on evidence available on record and we are of the opinion that in the present case, the only view possible was the one taken by the learned trial Court. 27. From the above analysis, we are of the considered opinion that the prosecution has been successful in proving its case beyond reasonable doubt and the learned trial Court has not committed 21 any legal or factual error in arriving at the finding with regard to the guilt of the appellant/convict. 28. Accordingly, the appeal being devoid of merit is liable to be and is hereby dismissed. 29. It is stated at the Bar that the appellant is in jail. He shall serve out the sentence as ordered by the trial Court. 30. Registry is directed transmit the original record to the trial Court concerned for necessary information and compliance and also to send a certified copy of this order to the concerned Superintendent of Jail where the appellant is undergoing his jail sentence to serve the same on the appellant informing him that he is at liberty to assail the present judgment passed by this Court by preferring an appeal before the Hon’ble Supreme Court with the assistance of High Court Legal Services Committee or the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee. Sd/- Sd/- (Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi) (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice Judge Chandra
Arguments
submissions made by the learned counsel for the appellant and submits that the trial Court has rightly convicted and sentenced the appellant, in which no interference is called for by this Court. 10. We have heard learned counsel for the parties and considered their rival submissions made herein-above and also went through the original records of the learned trial Court with utmost circumspection and carefully as well. 11. The first question for consideration before this Court would be, whether the trial Court has rightly held that on the date of incident, the victims were minor? 12. When a person is charged for the offence punishable under the 7 POCSO Act, or for rape punishable in the Indian Penal Code, the age of the victim is significant and essential ingredient to prove such charge and the gravity of the offence gets changed when the child is below 18 years, 12 years and more than 18 years. Section 2(d) of the POCSO Act defines the “child” which means any person below the age of eighteen years. 13. In Jarnail Singh Vs. State of Haryana, reported in (2013) 7 SCC 263, the Hon’ble Supreme Court laid down the guiding principles for determining the age of a child, which read as follows: “22. On the issue of determination of age of a minor, one only needs to make a reference to Rule 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007 (hereinafter referred to as the 2007 Rules). The aforestated 2007 Rules have been framed under Section 68(1) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. Rule 12 referred to hereinabove reads as under : “12. Procedure to be followed in determination of Age.? (1) In every case concerning a child or a juvenile in conflict with law, the court or the Board or as the case may be the Committee referred to in rule 19 of these rules shall determine the age of such juvenile or child or a juvenile in conflict with law within a period of thirty days from the date of making of the application for that purpose.