SC bails juvenile in murder case

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday set aside a decision of the Peshawar High Court canceling the bail of Mehran, 14, in a murder and robbery case.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah granted bail to the accused under the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018. The 8-page verdict issued the order in the bail appeal of Mehran after his arrest on May 29, 2024. The court noted that according to the FIR, the accused was going along with his companions on a highway when he tried to stop a vehicle coming from behind. When the vehicle did not stop, Mehran opened fire, killing one person in the vehicle. The court declared that according to the school certificate, Mehran was 14 year and 5 months old at the time of the incident. The Peshawar High Court rejected his bail application due to the heinous charge. However, the cases of the juvenile accused should be treated differently from the adult accused under the Juvenile Justice System Act 2018,” the court held.

According to this law, the court said, the juveniles should not be punished but be given special treatment to undergo a rehabilitation program so that they become responsible citizens in the future. If the trial of the young accused is not completed, his bail is approved after being imprisoned for six months. The court declared that it was the failure of police to determine the exact age of the accused. It was not done, the accused was arrested in February 2023 and had been in prison for more than six months, therefore, his bail request was approved against surety bonds of Rs 50,000.