Overview
- The court declared the October 23, 2025 arrest and custody unlawful and directed the Juvenile Justice Board, Madhepura, to issue an immediate release order.
- The State must pay ₹5 lakh in compensation within one month plus ₹15,000 in litigation costs for the boy’s two-and-a-half months of incarceration.
- The Director General of Police was told to conduct an administrative inquiry and ensure recovery of the compensation and costs from the erring officials within six months.
- Judges noted the DIG’s supervision note prompted arrests on the assumption allegations were true, the IO misrecorded the boy as 19 despite no cogent material, and the magistrate sent him to jail mechanically.
- The bench underscored Article 21 violations and pointed out that the chargesheet filed on September 1, 2025 had shown the petitioner as not sent up for trial in the land-dispute case.