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Wrongfully Convicted Juvenile Wins Compensation After 13 Years in Prison
9 Aug
Summary
- 16-year-old Channappa convicted as adult for 2011 murder, spent 13 years in jail
- High court rules he should have been tried as juvenile, orders compensation
- New Juvenile Justice Rules aim to prevent such wrongful adult trials
In a significant development, the Karnataka High Court has ruled that Channappa, who was convicted of murder in 2018 and sentenced to life imprisonment, should have been tried as a juvenile at the time of the crime in 2011. The court has now overturned his life sentence and ordered compensation of Rs 50,000 for the wrongful trial under the new Juvenile Justice Rules of 2025.
Channappa, who was 16 years old at the time, was convicted along with his friend Saibanna for the murder of 23-year-old Bheemaraya in Yadgir district. Despite being a minor, Channappa was tried as an adult by the Yadgir sessions court and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018. However, the high court has now found that the trial was flawed from the start, as the authorities failed to properly identify Channappa's juvenile status.
The court has emphasized the importance of the recently enacted Karnataka State Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules of 2025, which aim to prevent such incidents of juveniles being wrongly incarcerated as adults. With Channappa having already spent 13 years in prison, the court deemed it unnecessary to refer the matter to the Juvenile Justice Board, instead directing the board to award him the compensation.
