Himachal Pradesh High Court directs DGP to circulate Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice Act to all investigating officers

8 October 2026

A Division Bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court of Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Bhupesh Sharma has directed the Director General of Police, Himachal Pradesh, to circulate the provisions of Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, among all investigating officers in the State.
The order, in Kulwinder Singh v. State of H.P., carries the neutral citation 2026:HHC:39173.
The DGP was asked to issue the circulation with guidelines by 15 October 2026.
Section 94 lays down how the age of a child is to be determined and proved.
The Court said investigating officers must collect preferential age evidence such as the date-of-birth certificate from the school or the matriculation certificate, and the birth certificate from a municipal body or panchayat.
Where documents are absent or doubtful, an ossification test or other age-determination test may be sought with orders from the Committee, Board or Court.
The underlying conviction was under Sections 354A, 354D, 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4(2) of the POCSO Act.