Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
Proviso to Section 9(2)—Claim of juvenility—Plea of juvenility may be raised before any court and it shall be recognized at any stage, even after final disposal of case—Proper inquiry in accordance with the provisions of the  JJ Act of 2000 or the  JJ Act of 2015 was not carried out so to consider the prayer made by the appellant to be treated as juvenile on the date of the incident even though plea was raised at the earliest opportunity—It can be said without a cavil of doubt that the plea of juvenility raised by the appellant could not have been thrown out without conducting proper inquiry—Additional Sessions Court directed to conduct a thorough inquiry to determine the age/date of birth of the appellant in accordance with the procedure provided under the JJ Act of 2015 and the rules framed thereunder.
[Paras 14 to 16]