BALU @ BAKTHAVATCHALU vs STATE OF TAMIL NADU

The Supreme Court addressed the applicability of the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 in determining the age of the appellant accused under Section 302 IPC. The Court clarified that the relevant date for assessing juvenile status is the date of the incident, not the date of court appearance, as established in Pratap Singh vs. State of Jharkhand (2005) 3 SCC 551. The appeal was allowed, and the case was remanded for further proceedings in accordance with the juvenile provisions.