The Supreme Court Wednesday ordered that Shubam Sangra, accused in the 2018 rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua, should be tried as an adult and not a juvenile.
A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and JB Pardiwala ruled that medical evidence proved that the accused had attained 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the offense and medical opinion will be considered as conclusive evidence in the absence of any other proof.
“Medical opinion regarding age in absence of any other conclusive evidence should be considered to determine the age range of the accused. Whether medical evidence can be relied upon or not depends on the value of the evidence. Thus, order passed by CJM Kathua is set aside and thus the accused is held not to be a juvenile at the time of crime,” the Court said, as per the report.
The judgment was passed on an appeal filed by Jammu and Kashmir against an order delivered in this regard by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
The High Court had affirmed an order of the trial court which found the main accused to be a juvenile.
As per the report, the case pertains to the rape and murder of an eight-year-old child belonging to the nomadic Bakerwal community. The victim was found dead on 17 January 2018. Owing to the sensitivity of the case, the Supreme Court had in May 2018, transferred the trial to Pathankot.
The trial court in Pathankot had convicted 6 out of the 7 accused in the case and acquitted one, giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Sangra was being tried before JJB when the Supreme Court stayed those proceedings in February 2020 after J-K moved the present plea, reads the report by Bar and Bench.
