A judicial magistrate of Jhanjharpur sub-divisional court in Madhubani district was on Thursday stunned to see a seven-year-old boy seeking bail in an eve-tease-cum-assault case. 

Taking note of a possible faux pas on the police’s part, judicial magistrate Raghvendra Mishra sought an explanation from Madhubani superintendent of police (SP) Akhtar Hussain on the charges levelled against the minor. The court also directed him to conduct an investigation and submit the report at the earliest. 

The victim, a resident of Jhitkian village under the jurisdiction of Laukahi police station, appeared before the court after summons were issued against him and four others in a case lodged with Laukahi police station of the district on May 19, 2014.

The investigating officer of the case had found the allegations true against all the five accused and submitted a chargesheet in the court on July 14, 2014. The matter, however, remained under wraps for almost two years.

The victim’s father, Pawan Yadav, received summons from the court in July, asking him and his son to appear before the sub-divisional court in Jhanjharpur on August 6. “We had no option but to honour the court order,” said Pawan (34), a marginal farmer. 

Pawan said both had deposed before court on Thursday to seek bail. “The judicial magistrate was surprised to know that a minor had been booked for a cognisable offence,” he said and added that the court had ordered an investigation.
A lawyer of Madhubani court, Ram Sharan Sah, said a person below the age of seven could not booked in any criminal case.

“Moreover, when the incident took place, the boy was only five,” he told The Telegraph over phone.

When contacted, Madhubani SP Hussain said he had ordered a probe into the case. “The sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Phulparas, Umesh Choudhary, has been entrusted to conduct a detailed probe,” he said. 

Hussain, however, admitted lapses on the police’s part. “Action will be taken against errant police officers. Once the report of the SDPO is submitted, we will fix the accountability of the police personnel,” he added.

The Phulparas SDPO said he would visit the village in a day or two to ascertain under what circumstances the minor had been booked in a cognisable offence and that too in a special reported case. 

While an officer not below the rank of a SDPO supervises a special reported case, an inspector supervises non-special reported cases. Under no circumstance, a boy below seven can be held guilty in a criminal case,” said Choudhary.
Earlier, the court had summoned the school headmaster to ascertain the date of birth of the Class II student.