Calcutta High Court orders release of Bangladeshi man after 21 years in jail
Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, minors cannot be incarcerated for more than seven years
The Calcutta High Court has ordered the release of a Bangladeshi national who spent 21 years in prison for a murder committed near the India–Bangladesh border in 2005, after medical evidence established he was a minor at the time of the crime.
An ossification test recently determined that the man was 16 years old when the offence occurred, making him a juvenile under Indian law, says the Times of India.
Under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, minors cannot be incarcerated for more than seven years, the court noted.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The bench directed the West Bengal government to release the man and arrange for his repatriation to Bangladesh now that his juvenility has been established.
The ruling comes after a 21-year legal process during which the man remained in prison following his conviction in 2005.
On similar grounds, the court also ordered the release of another murder convict from West Bengal's Birbhum district who had spent 14 years in jail. The court found he too had been a minor at the time of the offence.
The bench said both cases fell under provisions governing juvenile offenders, which limit the maximum period of confinement for those found to have committed crimes as minors.
