Organised Crime Syndicates Exploiting Juveniles, Abusing Juvenile Justice Law To Commit Heinous Crimes: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has observed that organised crime syndicates are increasingly using juveniles to commit heinous offences, including crimes under special laws such as the NDPS Act and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).Justice Girish Kathpalia added that these syndicates are misusing the beneficial provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, which has less stringent provisions for bail.The bench made the observation while rejecting the bail plea of a Child in Conflict with Law (CCL) accused in a murder case.The Court noted that the juvenile was already on bail in another murder case when the present offence was allegedly committed. It further recorded that he was also involved in a third serious criminal case under Section 394 IPC.The defence argued that while considering bail under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, the seriousness of allegations and criminal antecedents were not relevant considerations. It was also contended that the proviso to Section 12 referred specifically to association with a “known criminal,” and not merely any criminal.Opposing the plea, the State submitted that public witnesses were yet to be examined and expressed apprehension that the juvenile, if released, could intimidate them. The prosecution also relied on CCTV footage and the presence of an eyewitness.Refusing bail, the Court observed:“The court cannot be oblivious of harsh reality of today's society where a number of heinous crimes even under special legislations like NDPS Act and MCOCA are being committed by the organized syndicates through juveniles, abusing the social welfare legislation.”In the present case, the Court said, it is certainly not a situation where the likelihood as contemplated by proviso to Section 12 of the Act pertains to some unknown criminals. “In the present case itself, there were five assailants as alleged by prosecution. Besides that, as mentioned above, the CCL/applicant is involved in two more cases of serious nature, one of which is another murder case and it is while on bail in that murder case, the CCL/applicant got involved in the present murder case. The apprehension expressed by the State is not vague that if released on bail, the CCL/applicant would come in contact with some known criminals.”As such, the Court dismissed the bail application.Appearance: Mr. Subham Jain and Mr. Vaibhav Dubey, Advocates for Petitioner; Mr. Amit Ahlawat, APP for State with Inspector Rajesh Kumar for RespondentCase title: CCL S v. StateCase no.: BAIL APPLN. 1203/2026Click here to read order

Organised Crime Syndicates Exploiting Juveniles, Abusing Juvenile Justice Law To Commit Heinous Crimes: Delhi High Court

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