HC Orders Deletion of Juvenile Case Records to Safeguard Man’s Career Prospects

The Kerala High Court has directed the police to permanently erase records of a case in which a 29-year-old man was implicated as a juvenile, holding that retaining such details could unfairly jeopardise his future job opportunities.

 

Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen, in her August 14 ruling, emphasised that the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (JJ Act) guarantees a “fresh start” to children in conflict with the law. Even in cases where a minor is convicted, the law mandates that such records must eventually be erased, the judge clarified.

 

Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Union of India v. Ramesh Bishnoi [(2019) 19 SCC 710], the Court reiterated that “no stigma is to be attached to any crime committed by a juvenile,” as the central aim of the JJ Act is to reintegrate children into society as normal individuals.

 

The petitioner, who was a minor in 2011, had been booked under Sections 448 (house trespass) and 427 (mischief) of the Indian Penal Code. The case was later settled, and he was acquitted. Despite this, records of the case continued to remain in the police department’s internal digital systems.

 

Fearing that these details could resurface during employment background checks or passport verifications, the man initially approached the Juvenile Justice Board, which ordered the deletion of the records. However, he discovered that the information was still accessible in the police archives, prompting him to seek relief from the High Court.

 

The Court relied on Section 3(xiv) of the JJ Act, which provides that past records of juveniles must be erased unless there are special circumstances. It also referred to Section 24, which requires the destruction of such records once proceedings have concluded, ensuring that no child faces disqualification or prejudice later in life.

 

Finding no justification for the continued retention of the petitioner’s records, particularly since he had been acquitted, the Court directed the State, the Director General of Police, and the concerned station house officers to expunge all references to the case from their systems.

 

“The writ petition is to be allowed by directing the respondents to immediately delete and expunge all case records relating to C.C. No. 46/2011 on the files of the Juvenile Justice Board, Thalassery, from their internal systems including the police department's digital database,” the order stated.