The Kerala High Court on Friday heard arguments in a plea seeking to set aside a Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) order allowing the escorted movement of the children in conflict with law (CCLs) in the Karuvatta murder case for evidence collection. The court is expected to deliver its judgment on September 15.
The case pertains to the murder of a 67-year-old man, allegedly plotted by his 13-year-old granddaughter and executed with the help of her three friends. All four accused were minors, bringing the case under the ambit of the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act. It was one of the rare instances in which all the accused in a murder case were minors.
Justice G Girish on Wednesday stayed the JJB’s September 7 order in a criminal revision petition filed by three of the CCLs in the case registered by the Haripad Police Station.
According to the plea, the CCLs are accused of offences under Sections 61(1), 49, 332(a), 103(1), 309, 238 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The plea states that the Child Welfare Police Officer had approached the JJB seeking permission to interview the CCLs and requesting their ‘escorted movement’ for evidence collection and recovery.
In an order dated August 29, the JJB permitted the interviews to be conducted within the child-friendly premises of the Observation Home but deferred the request for escorted movement. The JJB subsequently granted police custody of three minors for the investigation. Meanwhile, the counsel for two of the CCLs filed detailed objections to the proposed escorted movement.
The defence suggested alternative methods for recovering gloves and gold and collecting digital evidence, including CCTV analysis, examination of independent witnesses, intervention by the Cyber Cell and digital forensics. These measures, it argued, could be carried out without removing the children from the Observation Home. The defence also questioned the competence of the Investigating Officer.
However, the plea states that the JJB passed the impugned order without considering these objections and without due application of mind. It alleges that the order effectively placed the CCLs in police custody under the guise of ‘escorted movement’, in violation of the JJ Act.
The plea further argues that the proposed movement was intended to facilitate recoveries under Section 23 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023. It states that, after obtaining disclosure statements during the interviews at the Observation Home, the police now seek to take the CCLs out to recover physical evidence such as apparel, gloves and gold. According to the plea, this would amount to de facto police custody, which is prohibited under Section 10 of the JJ Act.
The plea also points to what it describes as contradictory conditions imposed for the escorted movement. While the order states that the children should not be exposed to the public, it permits them to be taken to locations including an EV charging station, a railway station and a KSRTC bus stand.
It further alleges a violation of natural justice, arguing that the date and time of the movement are to be kept confidential and communicated privately. According to the plea, this leaves the children under a constant and arbitrary threat of imminent police control and effectively curtails their right to seek appellate remedies.
(With LiveLaw inputs)
