Mumbai: Observing that there is sufficient evidence to frame charges, a sessions court rejected the discharge plea of an 18-year-old Andheri student who allegedly punched another minor in the face and left him with a broken jaw during a fight in 2021. The student had moved the court earlier this year after the juvenile justice board (JJB) refused to discharge him from the case on Jan 5. He contended that the injuries were minor and did not constitute the offence of grievous hurt.
However, the judge said, “It is clear that when the fight started, the appellant had clear knowledge that a fist blow on the face of [the victim] was likely to cause hurt to him and, in fact, a fracture injury was caused, resulting in his hospitalisation and surgery.” The judge said the student’s act constituted an offence of voluntarily causing hurt. “Whether a fist blow is a weapon of offence which is likely to cause death will be decided at the time of appreciating the prosecution evidence, and for that, it is necessary to record the evidence of prosecution witnesses.
While deciding the discharge application, the merits of this application can be judged only on the basis of statements of witnesses and the medical evidence before the court,” the judge said. The court said it did not find any perversity in JJB’s order. The judge also pointed to the hospital’s Dec 30, 2021, medical certificate, which showed the victim was admitted to the facility four days prior and was operated on for a fracture.
At the time of discharge, he was advised two weeks of rest. “The statement of [the victim] shows that he sustained an injury to his face..
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. also stated in their police statements that the appellant had dealt a fist blow on [the victim’s] face,” the judge said. The FIR was filed on Dec 27, 2021.
The victim’s father told police that two days prior, he was told that his son had been assaulted and taken to a hospital. He said at the hospital, the victim told him about the assailant. He said since the victim had fractured his jaw, he was advised to go to a facility with a dental surgeon.
After he was moved to another hospital, the doctor expressed his inability to perform the surgery. Another doctor, too, refused. Finally, the father took the boy to a bigger hospital where the surgery was finally performed.
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