‘Shocked and surprised’, Bombay HC quashes FIR against 9-year-old boy whose cycle hit woman – The Indian Express

The court directed the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 25,000 to the petitioner within eight weeks and that the cost be recovered from police officer responsible for registering the FIR. The court said it was “shocked and surprised” that police had registered an FIR against a minor boy, and observed that “it was nothing but an accident which was clearly unintentional”.

The court also pulled up the Dongri metropolitan magistrate court for not passing any appropriate orders on the C-summary (a closure report stating the FIR is based on a mistake of facts) report filed by police in the case.

A bench of Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and Justice Shriam M Modak on October 20 passed the order on a plea of the minor boy’s mother who challenged the FIR registered with the Vanrai police station under section 338 (causing grievous hurt by doing any rash or negligent act) of the Indian Penal Code. The plea also challenged the proceedings pending before the metropolitan magistrate in the case.

According to the complainant, who is an actor, her parents had gone to the podium of the society building around 7.30pm on March 27 when the minor boy riding a cycle hit her mother, as a result of which she sustained an injury. An FIR was lodged on April 5, a week after the incident.

Advocate Shravan Giri, for the petitioner, submitted that no FIR could have been registered against the minor boy as section 83 of the Indian Penal Code stipulated “nothing is an offence which is done by a child above seven years of age and under twelve, who has not attained sufficient maturity to judge the nature and consequences of the conduct on that occasion” and that therefore no action was required to be taken by police on the complaint.

Giri submitted that the boy had been traumatised by the media coverage of the case and that the FIR be quashed.

Additional public prosecutor J P Yagnik told the court about the closure report and that action had been initiated against the assistant commissioner of police who registered the FIR. The action was pending before superior officers, he added.

“It appears that even before investigation, the C- Summary report was filed by police in the magistrate court in the said case; however, much damage was done to the boy aged 9 years by the allegations made against him and the publicity given to the case,” the court noted.

The court referred to an affidavit by Tanaji Santu Patil, police sub-inspector, which stated that the FIR had been registered “due to misconception of law” and without any intention to book the nine-year-old.

The police officer said no coercive action had been taken against the boy and he tendered an unconditional apology for the FIR. He said a closure-report had been submitted to the juvenile court but no orders passed.

“Misconception or ignorance of law is not an excuse, much less, for a police officer and in the peculiar facts, more so, having regard to the fact that the child was only 9 years of age. This action of the police (despite section 83 of IPC) i.e. of registration of FIR, has resulted in traumatising a nine-year-old-boy…The action reflects complete non-application of mind by the concerned officer whilst registering the offence,” the bench observed, and quashed and set aside the FIR and the proceedings against the boy.

The court sought a report of the departmental inquiry against the ACP before the next hearing, on December 20, to pass further directions.