The apex court keeps out the HC judgement in regard to the orders accusing Shubam Sangra to be tried as an adult in Kathua gangrape

Today’s hearing is concerning the gangrape and murder plea of an 8 yr old girl in the place of Kathua which was in the headlines a few years back, the top court today noted that one of the accused was not below 18 and present can be made as an adult for the offence.

The supreme court of India continued and said that in the non-presence of statutory evidence on the plea, medical notings regarding an accused’s age can’t be "moved aside."

Bench composed of justices Ajay Rastogi and JB Pardiwalastrongl noted that “Medical views in the aspects of age in non-presence of any other ending evidence must be taken into the account to look at the age range of the accused. Whether medical proof can be relied upon or not depends on the value of the proof”. 

The top court noted the rulings of the Katua’s Chief Judicial Magistrate and the HC which delivered that one of the accused in the Kathua case i.e Shubam Sangra was under 18 and hence to be tried differently.

Justice Pardiwala while delivering the judgement said that “We are keeping out the judgements of the Chief Judicial Magistrate Kathua and the HC and noted that the accused was not a minor during the commission of the crime”.

The 8-year-old got raped in the district of Kathua in J&K in 2019.

The Special Judge of the Special Court, in June 2019, sentenced 3 accused for imprisonment in this case and sentenced 3 cops to 5-year imprisonment for making tampering with proof. Later, the trial of Sangra was shifted to the JJB.