The Supreme Court has ruled that bail cannot be refused to a juvenile in a criminal case unless the court explicitly finds that the minor poses a risk of association with known criminals, faces potential moral, physical, or psychological harm, or that their release would undermine the pursuit of justice.

A bench consisting of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih overturned the decisions of both the Rajasthan High Court and the Juvenile Justice Board, which had previously denied bail to a juvenile accused of sexually assaulting another minor.

"....the impugned orders are set aside. The appeal is accordingly allowed," the bench said while noting that the juvenile in conflict with law has been in custody for over one year, and directed that he shall be released on bail without surety.

"However, the jurisdictional Juvenile Justice Board shall issue appropriate directions to the jurisdictional Probation Officer to keep the juvenile under supervision and to submit periodical reports to the Board about the conduct of the Juvenile," the bench said in its order of August 14.

Referring to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act), the bench highlighted that according to the language used in subsection 1 of Section 12, a juvenile in conflict with the law must be "necessarily released on bail," either with or without surety, or placed under the supervision of a probation officer or the care of a suitable person, unless the specific proviso applies.

The bench referred to the proviso to sub-section 1 of section 12 which said, "Provided that such person shall not be so released if there appears reasonable grounds for believing that the release is likely to bring that person into association with any known criminal or expose the said person to moral, physical or psychological danger or the person's release would defeat the ends of justice, and the Board shall record the reasons for denying the bail and circumstances that led to such a decision".

The court reviewed all previous orders issued by the Juvenile Justice Board, the special court, and the high court, with particular attention to the December 11, 2023, order from the JJ Board. The Supreme Court also considered the juvenile's psychological assessment report, which indicated that the juvenile does not fall into a high-risk category and that there were no concerns listed in the "worry list of child" section. The report, signed by a qualified clinical psychologist, was noted by the court.

"Though none of the courts at no stage have recorded a finding that in the facts of the case, the proviso to sub-section 1 of section 12 (of JJ Act) was applicable, the juvenile in conflict with law has been denied bail for the last one year," the bench said. The top court noted that the boy was taken into custody on August 15, 2023 and sent to a juvenile care home. The chargesheet was filed in the case on August 25, 2023.