Pune Porsche Car Accident: Bombay High Court Orders Release of 17-Year-Old
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of a 17-year-old boy from an observation home. The teen was involved in a recent Porsche car accident in Pune, where he was accused of driving the car illegally and in an inebriated state, resulting in a collision with a two-wheeler that killed two techies from Madhya Pradesh.
Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande of the Bombay High Court quashed the Juvenile Justice Board’s (JJB) orders that had remanded the minor to the observation home.
“We allow the petition and order his release. The Child in Conflict with Law (CCL) shall be in the care and custody of the petitioner (paternal aunt),” stated the court.
The bench noted that the JJB’s remand orders were illegal and lacked jurisdiction. The court remarked that in the immediate reaction to the accident, the minor’s age was overlooked amid the public outcry and kneejerk reactions.
“The CCL is under 18 years old. His age needs to be considered,” the bench emphasized.
The court underscored that it was bound by the law and the aims of the Juvenile Justice Act, which mandates treating minors in conflict with the law differently from adults, regardless of the crime’s severity.
The order came in response to a plea from the 17-year-old’s paternal aunt, who argued that he was illegally detained due to public and political pressure, which led the police to deviate from proper investigative procedures, undermining the Juvenile Justice Act’s purpose.
Prashant Patil, the lawyer for the minor, said, “Today we challenged the three remands of the Juvenile Justice Board before the high court… We argued for his immediate release. Today, the court has directed his release. Custody has to be granted to the paternal aunt…”
The teenager, accused of driving drunk and causing a fatal collision on May 19, had been placed in an observation home in Pune. Initially granted bail on flimsy grounds after the accident, he was remanded to the observation home by the JJB on May 22, following a police request to amend the bail order. The boy’s family claimed the investigation was unduly influenced.
