'Young Offenders Deserve Chance To Reform': Bombay HC Quashes FIR Against Man Who Brandished Sword At 19

The Bombay High Court quashed a 2015 FIR against a man who allegedly brandished a sword during a 2014 Wadala confrontation when he was 19. Justice Milind Jadhav stressed rehabilitation over punishment, noting his clean record and employment opportunity, while imposing a Rs 10,000 cost and cautioning against taking the law into one’s hands.

The Bombay High Court stressed rehabilitation while quashing the FIR against a former 19-year-old accused in the Wadala incident | AI Generated Representational Image

Mumbai, August 28, 2026: Observing that young offenders should be given an opportunity to reform and rehabilitate themselves, the Bombay High Court has quashed a 2015 FIR against a man who had allegedly brandished a sword during a confrontation with a mob when he was 19 years old.

Justice Milind Jadhav, while allowing the man’s plea, said punishment should aim at a “reformative result rather than being punitive in nature”. The court noted that the accused was a Class XII student at the time of the incident and had no criminal antecedents.

Incident At Wadala Chawl

The incident took place on June 6, 2014, at a chawl in Wadala following a quarrel between two families. According to the court, around 15-20 members of the Kharat family, along with the complainant, went to the premises looking for members of the Waghmare family. As they were not present, the group entered the room of their relatives, the Kamble family, where the applicant and two women were present.

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Neighbouring witnesses told the police that the applicant, who was confronted by the mob, brandished a sword to ward them off. The sword was an award he had received and was displayed in his house. No one was injured in the incident.

Court Considers Reformative Approach

The court said that while the act of holding the sword could, at first glance, appear to amount to criminal intimidation, the circumstances leading to it also had to be considered.

The judge noted that the man had since grown up, was educated and had received an offer of employment from an international shipping company.

“If the applicant is made to languish in jail or face the trial further, there is every possibility that he might lose faith in the institution and society at large and may tread the path of criminality or would waste his life,” Justice Jadhav observed.

The court said every opportunity for a “reformative approach” should be considered in cases involving young offenders so that they get an opportunity to become good citizens and earn their livelihood honourably.

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FIR Quashed With Cost

It accordingly quashed the FIR registered at Dadar police station and all consequential proceedings. The police were also directed to consider the court’s order for issuing a police clearance certificate for his employment, provided he had no other offence.

However, the court cautioned against taking the law into one’s hands and imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on the applicant, to be paid by his father to the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa Advocate Aid Fund.

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