The petitioner is a life convict, for having committed the rape of the daughter of P.W.1 who was aged about 12 years at the time of the occurrence and then murdered her. The Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Dharmapuri, in SC.No.164/2000 has found him guilty for the commission of the offences u/s.376 and 302 IPC and he was imposed with the sentence of rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs.5000/- with a default sentence of six months rigorous imprisonment for each of the offences and the sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The petitioner, challenging the legality of the conviction and sentence awarded by the Trial Court, filed an appeal in Crl.A.No.365/2006 and vide judgment dated 20.11.2007, the conviction and sentence awarded by the Trial Court, has been confirmed and no further challenge has been made. The petitioner, after having waited for nearly 12 years, has submitted a representation dated 16.03.2019, taking a stand that he was born on 05.05.1980 and since the offence was committed on 07.10.1996, he was aged about 16 years and 5 months and as such, he is entitled to the benefits of the Juvenile Justice [Care and Protection] Act, 2015.
