- (1.) THE learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court No. 1, Jangipur in the district of Murshidabad convicted the appellant under Section 376/417 ipc in Sessions Serial No. 48 of 2004 corresponding to Sessions Trial No. 02 of 2004 arising out of Suti P. S. Case No. 110 of 2002 and sentenced him to suffer r. I. for 7 years with payment of fine of Rs. 35,000/- in default to suffer for r. I. for 1 year with payment of fine of Rs. 500/- in default to suffer S. I. for one month.
(2.) THE judgment and order of the learned trial court has been appealed against in CRA No. 694 of 2005 and it came for consideration before this court on 17th September, 2007 and at the time of hearing of the appeal a point was taken that the appellant in his examination under Section 313 Cr. P. C. stated before the learned Judge that on the day of examination he was 15 years old. The court's attention was further drawn to the report of Dr. Alok Biswas (P. W. 6) which goes to show that on the date of examination of the appellant on 11th September, 2002 he was about 15 years old. Thus, with the aid of the medical report of P. W. 6 (Exbt. 2) and the statement of the accused under Section 313 Cr. P. c. it was contended that the appellant ought to have been tried under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2002; and when the question of juvenility has been raised an enquiry was necessary so as to ascertain the age of the appellant at the time of the commission of the offence under Section 7 (A) of the Act.
(3.) UPON such submission of the appellant's advocate and upon hearing the learned counsel for the State of West Bengal there was a direction upon the learned trial court to ascertain the age of the appellant on the basis of evidence oral and documentary as may be adduced before the trial court and to return its finding to this court so as to proceed further with the hearing of the appeal.;