The prosecution requested the Juvenile Justice Board to treat as an adult a 17-year-old boy who is accused of driving a Porsche vehicle while intoxicated and running over two people last year in Pune, alleging that he perpetrated a "heinous" act. The incident happened on May 19 last year in the Kalyani Nagar area and claimed the lives of IT professionals Anish Awadhiya and his friend Ashwini Costa, who were riding a motorcycle.
It's over a year now since the Pune police's request that the accused be tried as an adult is still pending with the Juvenile Justice Board.
"The Pune police had filed a plea in front of the JJB following the accident that the juvenile should be tried as an adult. But the defence had sought adjournment time and again. The defence was not permitting the hearing to proceed," special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray said on Monday.
"Today, at last, there was the hearing of the plea. We insisted the trial treat the teenager as an adult," Hiray added.
The prosecutor stated he appealed that the crime carried out by the juvenile was "heinous" because not only were two individuals flattened to death but an attempt to destroy the evidence was also made.
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"I explained to the JJB members that the seriousness of the offence. I maintained that it was well known to the juvenile that he could inflict injuries upon others by driving a vehicle in a drunken state," Hiray said.
The lawyer for the juvenile, Prashant Patil, who was against the prosecution's plea, maintained that he referred to the Supreme Court's verdict in the Shilpa Mittal versus State case, which establishes what constitutes a heinous crime. "Plea by the prosecution is against the judgement of the Supreme Court. We urged that since the plea goes against the Supreme Court's guidelines, it is not maintainable. In order to declare a particular crime as heinous, the prosecution must have a provision where minimum punishment is seven years," Patil said.
In this case, there is no one section where the minimum punishment is seven years, he added. The JJB must conduct early evaluation to decide whether a child in conflict with law must be handled like an adult or a child, Patil said.
"In this instance, the JJB has already done that. And it has not emerged in their initial assessment that he should be tried as an adult," he said.
The suspected teenager was granted bail hours after the May 19 accident last year.
Also read: Pune Porsche crash: Year on, kins await 'fast-tracked' justice
The soft bail conditions, such as requesting the minor to pen a 300-word essay on road safety, caused a nationwide outrage, and then he was remitted to an observation home in Pune city three days later.
On June 25, 2024, the Bombay High Court ordered the boy released at once, terming the orders of the Juvenile Justice Board sending him to an observation home as illegal and the law for juveniles needs to be implemented in its entirety.
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