Statutory Hierarchy for Determination of the Age of a Victim

Determination of the age of a victim under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act must strictly adhere to the statutory hierarchy specified under Section 94 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The law mandates a strict sequence of preference for documentary evidence that must be exhausted sequentially before any medical test can be ordered. First preference is given to the matriculation or equivalent certificate, or the date of birth certificate from the school first attended by the child. In the absence of school records, reliance must be placed on the birth certificate issued by a municipal corporation, municipal authority, or a local panchayat. Only when both school records and official municipal birth certificates are completely unavailable or absent can the court order a medical ossification test or modern age determination test. Medical age determination cannot be resorted to as a matter of routine or mandated as an initial investigative step in every case. Lower courts and investigating agencies cannot bypass valid documentary records to give preference to medical opinion. (The State of Uttar Pradesh v. Anurudh & Anr. | 2026 INSC 47)