Kerala High Court Orders Erasure Of Case Records Relating To Man Acquitted Of Offence Committed As Minor

The Kerala High Court recently directed the state government, the Director General of Police and the Station House Officers (SHO) to erase all police records and details before the Juvenile Justice Board in a case where a minor was the accused.Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen was considering a plea by a man for erasure of all records relating to the case in which he was arrayed as the 5th accused when he was a minor and was subsequently acquitted.The petitioner was concerned that the judicial and police records would resurface when character verification was conducted by the police department, especially since he is appearing in public examinations. He had sought certified copies of the case records from the Juvenile Court through his lawyer, and the details were readily furnished. Thereupon, he came to know that the records were not erased.Subsequently, he filed a representation to the Principal Magistrate, Juvenile Justice Board, for the erasure of records. The same was allowed and the registry was directed to delete them. Though a similar representation was filed before the respondent SHOs, it was informed that the cases would remain in the internal records of the police department's digital database. Aggrieved, the present writ petition was filed.The Court referred to Sections 3(xiv) and 24 of the Juvenile Justice Act. In the former provision, the principle of fresh start is incorporated and it is provided that all past records of a child under the Juvenile Justice system should be erased except in special circumstances.Under Section 24, the Board has to make an order directing the Police, its own registry to destroy records of conviction of a minor after expiry of appeal period or within a reasonable time. An exception is made in cases where minor is convicted of heinous offences.Referring to Union of India and others v. Ramesh Bishnoi [(2019)19 SCC 710], the Court noted that the Apex Court had held that as per Section 3(xiv), no stigma should be attached to juveniles even where they were convicted.Considering the present case, the Court found that the petitioner was acquitted of the offences alleged against him and therefore, the plea has to be allowed in the light of the provisions of the Act.It observed: “Section 3(xiv) and Section 24 of the Act provide for erasure of the records relating to the offences committed and the exception of special circumstances does not apply to the facts of the case. Hence, I am of the opinion that the writ petition is to be allowed by directing the respondents to immediately delete and expunge all case records relating to…on the files of the Juvenile Justice Board, Thalassery from their internal systems including the police department's digital database… It is also made clear that the respondents shall ensure that the petitioner's juvenile records are not disclosed, accessed or relied upon in any official or administrative capacity in the future.”Thus, the Court disposed of the petition.Case No: WP(C) No. 18185 of 2025Case Title: XXX v. State of Kerala and Ors.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 593Counsel for the petitioner: Harikrishnan P.B., Swetha R., Muhammad Afsal A.Counsel for the respondents: K.B. Sony – Government PleaderClick to Read/Download Judgment

Kerala High Court Orders Erasure Of Case Records Relating To Man Acquitted Of Offence Committed As Minor

K. Salma Jennath

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