Bihar: 16-year-old boy asked to take care of minor ‘live-in partner’, child

BIHARSHARIF: A 16-year-old boy was absolved of charges of kidnapping a

minor girl and allowed to take care of his “live-in partner” and their eightmonth-old infant at his parents’ home by Nalanda Juvenile Justice Board

(JJB) principal judge Manvendra Mishra on Monday. The girl is 18 months

older than the boy.

“The act of the minor boy was punishable in law, but he was acquitted in

the larger interest of the lives of three minors — the boy himself, his minor

live-in partner and their eight-month-old daughter. The order is an

exception and it cannot be used to take advantage by anyone,” the court

observed.

The court directed the parents of the accused juvenile to treat the minor

girl as their married daughter-in-law and the infant as their legitimate granddaughter and fulfil all their needs.

Additional public prosecutor Rajesh Pathak said the trial had started on March 19 and concluded on Monday. “This is the first

case in the country in which a trial has ended in just three working days. Earlier, a Madhya Pradesh court had completed a trial

in four working days,” Pathak claimed.

Pathak said an FIR alleging kidnapping of a minor girl by a local boy, his parents and the elder brother, was filed with the Hilsa

police station on February 11, 2019. Later, the investigating officer removed the parents and the brother of the accused juvenile

from the FIR as he did not find their involvement during the investigation

On July 19 last year, the minor girl appeared before the court and said she had run away with the accused juvenile on her own

will to Delhi. The girl said they lived there as a couple and she had an eight-month-old daughter from the boy.

“The juvenile accused, who was only 14 years of age, at the time of committing the ‘crime’, had surrendered in court on

February 20 this year and was sent to a place of safety in Sheikhpura district,” said Pathak.

Pathak said the parents of the juvenile accused agreed to the conditions of the court and the father of the girl, who was the

complainant, consented not to pursue the case any further.

The court also directed Hilsa Bal Kalyan police officer to submit a report of the well-being of the minor girl and her child every

six months for two years.

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