Section 12(1) in The Tamil Nadu Prevention Of Begging Act, 1945
(1)If any person arrested by a Police-officer for an offence punishable under Section 3 has, in the opinion of such Police-officer, not attained the age of eighteen years, he shall be informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest, and shall be produced before the nearest Magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the Court of the Magistrate; and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a Magistrate. On such production the Magistrate shall without delay direct the person to be taken before a Juvenile Court established under sub-section (i) of Section 36 of the Tamil Nadu Children Act 1920 (Tamil Nadu Act 4 of 1920). The person shall then be dealt with under the provisions of that Act as modified by the provisions of this Section;Provided that if the Juvenile Court is satisfied on inquiry that such person has attained the age of eighteen years it shall record a finding to that effect, and thereupon it shall be open to the Police to proceed against such person under Section 3, or if there is a work-house or a special home, under Section 5; and in the latter case the medical officer referred to in Section 5 shall be required to certify only regarding the physical capacity of such person for ordinary manual labour and the finding of the Juvenile Court regarding the age of such person shall also be binding on the Magistrate before whom he may be produced.
