JODHPUR, Jan. 8 -- The Rajasthan high court has ruled that a minor aged between 16 and 18 years is entitled to bail under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, even if the child has been ordered to be tried as an adult for a heinous crime. The court said that denial of bail can be justified only on the limited grounds specified under Section 12 of the Act, and not on the basis of the gravity of the offence, a lawyer familiar with the case said on Wednesday. A single bench of justice Anoop Kumar Dhand, while hearing a criminal revision petition filed by a 16-year-old boy from Kota, observed that the petitioner is accused in a fatal shooting case and is currently lodged in an observation home. The Juvenile Justice Board and subsequently the Children's Court had denied him bail because, after a preliminary assessment under Sections 15 and 18 of the Act, it was decided that he should be tried as an adult. Setting aside those orders, the bench said: "Bail for a juvenile is the norm, with its denial being an exception, permissible only when the statutory conditions under Section 12 of the Act of 2015 are met. The mere gravity of the offence is not, by itself, a sufficient ground for refusal, unless it is demonstrated that detention is necessary for the child's rehabilitation, protection, or to prevent interference with the judicial process. In the present case, the reasoning aligns with this settled legal position, as the prosecution failed to establish any statutory ground justifying the denial of bail to the Child in Conflict with Law (CICL)." "Even if a Child in Conflict with Law is transferred for trial as an adult under Section 18(3) of the Act of 2015, his bail application shall be entertained under Section 12 of the Act of 2015. This view has been consistently discussed and followed in umpteen judgments of various High Courts," the bench added....