In India, the reckoning date for the determination of the age of the juvenile is the

The correct choice is: “date of offence”

In Pratap Singh v. State of Jharkhand (2005), a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held that whether an accused is a juvenile is decided by his age on the date of the commission of the offence, not the date he is produced before the court or authority. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 was amended in 2006 to say the same.

The “date of trial”, “date of judgment” and “date of arrest” depend on how fast the police and courts act, which would let the protection of juvenile justice law depend on delay.