Clarifying when a juvenile accused of murder can be tried as an adult, the Supreme Court has held that murder under Section 302 of the IPC [now Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)] is a "heinous offence" under the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act, making children aged 16 to 18 accused of the offence eligible for adult trial after the statutory preliminary assessment. Adult trial of juvenile accused of murderThe Supreme Court rejected the appellant's argument that murder falls within the definition of a "serious offence" under Section 2(54) of the JJ Act and not a "heinous offence" under Section 2(33). It clarified that if an offence carries a minimum punishment of seven years or more, it automatically qualifies as a "heinous offence" under Section 2(33) of the Act. Rejecting this contention, the Supreme Court held that Section 101(2) merely empowers the appellate court to seek expert assistance and does not make it compulsory. In the present case, Court noted that the Board had obtained a counsellor's report while conducting the preliminary assessment under Section 15.