PRAMILA vs THE STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

The Supreme Court held that the appellant was a juvenile at the time of the offence under the Juvenile Justice Act, 1986, as she was under 18 years old on the date of the incident. The Court emphasized that under Section 21 of the 1986 JJ Act, the maximum penalty for a juvenile is placement in a special home, and Section 22(1) prohibits imprisonment. Consequently, the Court quashed the convictions under Sections 302 and 201 IPC, as the appellant had already served over eight years in custody, rendering further proceedings unnecessary.