Juvenile accused should undergo rehabilitation programme instead of being punished: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declared that juvenile accused should not be punished rather they should undergo a rehabilitation programme and given special treatment so that they become responsible citizens in future.

The three-member SC bench headed by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, granted the post-arrest bail of a 14.5 years juvenile accused in a murder case.

The court, in its order, observed that the accused Mehran was 14 years and 5 months old at the time of the incident according to the school certificate.

It further said that according to the first information report, two persons were travelling in the vehicle and during the journey accused Mehran along with one companion tried to stop the vehicle.

As per the case, the accused Mehran opened fire due to the failure of the vehicle to stop, killing one person, it added.

The SC said that the Peshawar High Court (PHC) had rejected the bail application due to the delay in the trial on the heinous charge.

The order said,”There is a law to treat juvenile accused differently from adult accused. According to the law of juvenile accused, they should not be punished but they should undergo a rehabilitation programme and they should be given special treatment so that they become responsible citizen in future.”