Legal provisions regarding procedure to be followed by a Magistrate not empowered under the Act (Section 7 of the Juvenile Justice under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
(1) When any Magistrate not empowered to exercise the powers of a Board under this Act is of the opinion that a person brought before him under any of the provisions of this Act (other than for the purpose of giving evidence), is juvenile or the child, he shall without any delay record such opinion and forward the juvenile or the child and the record of the proceeding to the competent authority having jurisdiction over the proceeding.
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ADVERTISEMENTS:
(2) The competent authority to which the proceeding is forwarded under sub-section (1) shall hold the inquiry as if the juvenile or the child had originally been brought before it.
Procedure to be followed when claim of juvenility is raised before any Court:
According to Section 7-A of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000:
(1) Whenever a claim of juvenility is raised before any court or a court is of the opinion that an accused person was a juvenile on the date of commission of the offence, the Court shall make an inquiry, take such evidence as may be necessary (but not an affidavit) so as to determine the age of such person and shall record a finding whether the person is a juvenile or a child or not, stating his age as nearly as may be:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Provided that a claim of juvenility may be raised before any Court and it shall be recognized at any stage, even after final disposal of the case, and such claim shall be determined in terms of the provisions contained in this Act and the rules made there-under, even if the juvenile has ceased to be so on or before the date of commencement of this Act.
(2) If the Court finds a person to be a juvenile on the date of commission of the offence under sub-section (1), it shall forward the juvenile to the Board for passing appropriate order, and the sentence, if any, passed by a Court shall be deemed to have no effect.
