The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) cancelled the bail of a teenager implicated in a tragic accident that resulted in the deaths of two young tech professionals in Pune on Wednesday. This decision was made following a plea from the police to reassess the JJB’s May 19 decision. The teenager, who was driving a Porsche while intoxicated at the time of the mishap, has been sent to the Nehru Udyog Kendra Observation Home in Yerawada for 14 days, ending on June 5. The Court will make a subsequent determination for Juveniles on whether to accede to the police’s request to prosecute the minor (identified as a Child in Conflict with Law, or CCL) as an adult, given the gravity of the accident as a “heinous crime.”
Initially, the JJB had allowed the minor bail on a Sunday shortly after the accident in Kalyaninagar, which led to widespread outrage in Pune. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was notably “shocked” by the “lenient” bail conditions set by the board, which included penning an essay, aiding traffic police, and pursuing medical assistance for alcohol cessation.
Advocate Prashant Patil, who represents the minor, stated, “The JJB, after hearing both parties, has decided to send the CCL to the observation home until June 5.” He further mentioned that the teenager’s mental health and efforts to overcome addiction would be assessed over a 60 to 90-day period before a decision on trying the minor as an adult is made.
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar remarked, “We submitted a review application to the Juvenile Justice Board seeking permission for the juvenile to be tried as an adult, in addition to his remand. The Juvenile Justice Board has communicated the operative order to us, and the juvenile accused has been remanded for 15 days, until June 5. We are currently awaiting the decision on his trial as an adult.”
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, upon his visit to the Pune police commissioner on Tuesday, stood by his department and voiced his astonishment at the JJB’s “extremely lenient” initial order. “The order from the Juvenile Justice Board was astounding, even though the police had cited prior case laws and invoked sections like 304 of the IPC, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which is non-bailable,” Fadnavis articulated. He also mentioned that the police have appealed to the JJB to reconsider its ruling, revoke the teenager’s bail, and permit his trial as an adult.