Can a minor be convicted under Section 302 IPC?

Introduction

A crime may be defined as an act of disobedience of law, however the liability of a person varies from that of a civil law to a criminal law. Some of the grave criminal offences are robbery, murder etc. as it is a moral wrong as well as criminal offence. An act that is forbidden by law and that revolves around the moral sentiments of the society is considered as a crime.

Crimes are wrongs whose sanction is punitive and in no way remissible by any private person but remissible by law alone, if remissible at all. Crime is an act deemed by law to be harmful to the society in general. Crime is a wrongful act or commission or omission of something that is contrary to law that tend to prejudice of the community for which punishment may be inflicted as the result of judicial proceedings taken in the name of the State.

Doli Incapax

In India, according to the law of ‘doli incapax’ a child below the age of 7 years cannot be held criminally liable. The expression ‘doli incapax’ means ‘incapability of the child’ to distinguish right or wrong. Law grants absolute immunity to such an infant from wrongful acts. Under English Law a child below the age of 10 years is considered as doli incapax. Basis of the presumption in doli incapax lies in the theory of criminal responsibility. According to this theory a person should be held criminally responsible only for acts he intends to commit.

Doli incapax: Relevant Provisions

The rule of ‘doli incapax’ finds its importance under Sec.(s) 82 and 83 of the Indian Penal Code and in the Juvenile Justice Act in India.

According to Sec. 82 of the Indian Penal Code, “Nothing is an offence which is done by a child under seven years of age.”

Sec. 83 of the Code says, “Nothing is an offence which is done by a child above seven years of age and under twelve, who has not attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge of the nature and consequences of his conduct on that occasion.”

Scope of this Section

In India, a child who is below the age of 7 years is immune from being liable under criminal liability.  As under Indian Law, a child below the age of 7 years is considered as ‘doli in capex’. According to the Indian Penal Code, a child below the age of 7 to 12 years may be exempted from criminal liability.

Provided that it must be proved that due to want of maturity and lack of understanding, the child did not understand the nature and consequence of his conduct.

Almost every legal enactment in India has a provision for minors. It is important to take due care while dealing with a case involving a minor. So can minors be punished for murder? According to Section 82 of the IPC, a child below the age of seven years cannot be charged for any offence.

In Shivam (minor) v. State of U.P and Anr. (2019), the minor was charged with murder u/s 302 of the IPC. It was argued that he is a juvenile and the Juvenile Justice Board has confirmed that his age is less than 18 years. He asked for bail on the grounds of being falsely implicated. Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act 2015, was referred to by the Court that provides that the Juvenile Justice Board should be conducting an inquiry to examine the circumstances of the offence committed by the child and is charged with a heinous crime. The accused was not found to have any specific role in the offence and hence he was granted bail.