New Delhi — In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday ordered the release of Om Prakash, a prisoner who has spent nearly 25 years behind bars, after determining he was a juvenile at the time of committing a murder in 1994.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar found that Om Prakash was only 14 years old at the time of the crime, setting aside previous rulings that had overlooked his juvenility despite repeated pleas and substantial evidence.
The appellant was initially sentenced to death by a trial court, which dismissed his claim of juvenility based on his statement under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the existence of a bank account. The judgment was subsequently upheld by the High Court and the Supreme Court.
In a dramatic turn, Om Prakash later presented a school certificate and an ossification test confirming his age at the time of the offense. Despite these findings, a curative petition to the Supreme Court and a writ petition challenging a Presidential order were both dismissed.
In 2012, the President of India commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment with the condition that he would not be released until he turned 60.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment on Wednesday, criticized the judiciary’s earlier handling of the case, stating:
“At every stage, injustice has been inflicted by the Courts, either by ignoring the documents or by casting a furtive glance. The appellant, despite being illiterate, raised this plea one way or another, right from the trial Court up to the conclusion of the Curative Petition before this Court.”
The bench underscored that the failure to apply Section 9(2) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, which allows juvenility to be raised at any stage of judicial proceedings, was a critical error.
The Court directed Om Prakash’s immediate release and emphasized that the judgment was not a review of the 2012 Presidential order but an application of the Juvenile Justice Act to ensure justice.
In an appeal to rehabilitate the appellant, the Court tasked the Uttarakhand State Legal Services Authority with facilitating his reintegration into society, including access to welfare schemes, housing, and employment opportunities.
The ruling marks a rare acknowledgment of judicial errors spanning decades and serves as a reminder of the safeguards under India’s juvenile justice laws. Senior Advocate Dr. S. Muralidhar represented the appellant, with legal support from Project 39A of National Law University, Delhi.
The judgment closes a long chapter of legal missteps but opens a new one in restoring the dignity of a man whose formative years were lost to incarceration.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
