In a significant ruling, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that the trial of a juvenile accused in the 2017 Bhopal-Ujjain passenger train blast must be conducted by a Children’s Court and not a Special Court constituted under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act.
The decision came in response to a reference made by the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Bhopal, seeking clarity on the appropriate forum for the juvenile’s trial.
The blast, which occurred at Jabdi station in Shajapur district in March 2017, injured ten persons, three of them seriously. The case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Justice Sanjay Dwivedi, presiding over the single-judge bench, ruled that the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) override those of the NIA Act, 2008. “The JJ Act provides a non-obstante clause and would prevail over any other law in force,” the order dated Monday stated.
The High Court observed that the juvenile was below 18 years of age at the time of the incident. Consequently, the matter was initially referred to the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), which in an order dated April 28, 2024, noted that although the boy was 17 at the time, he was mentally and physically fit to understand the nature and consequences of his actions.
Following this assessment, the case was transferred to the Children’s Court for trial. However, the court designated under the JJ Act was not one notified under the NIA Act, prompting the request for judicial clarification.
Addressing the issue, the High Court clarified, “The jurisdiction to try the case would vest in the Children’s Court, not the Special Court under the NIA Act,” thereby settling the ambiguity regarding the trial forum for juveniles in such cases.
The ruling is expected to serve as a precedent in future cases involving juvenile offenders booked under special laws like the NIA Act.
