Why a 53-year-old rapist will be sentenced as a juvenile in India | WION Explains

A 53-year-old Rajasthan man will appear in court as a juvenile for raping a minor girl. The man will appear before a juvenile justice board in Ajmer, the Supreme Court of India ruled on July 23. The man raped a minor in 1988, for which he was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by a trial court, a decision upheld by the Rajasthan High Court in 2024.

Now, in 2025, the accused appealed to the Supreme Court seeking to treat him as a juvenile and claiming that he was only 16 years old when he committed the crime. His claim was proved by his school records, which indicated the date of birth of the accused as July 1, 1972.

The Indian apex court, led by Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih, accepted his claim as the evidence was reliable under the Juvenile Justice Act.

Although the Rajasthan government counsel objected to the claim of the accused and argued against granting juvenile status after decades. But the apex court cited prior rulings that the plea of juvenility can be raised at any stage, even after a case’s disposal. The SC directed the JJB to issue appropriate orders. The JJB may send the man to a special home for a maximum of three years, as per the Juvenile Justice Act.

How does the JJB act work?

As per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, a juvenile is a person who is under the age of 18 at the time of committing a crime. Juveniles are tried by the Juvenile Justice Board, not adult courts. They cannot face adult penalties like life imprisonment or death.

When the accused committed the rape, the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, was enforced, which classified boys under 16 as juveniles and girls under 18 as juveniles. But the Supreme Court applied the beneficial provisions of the 2015 Act, which raised the age to 18 for all children.