A 17-year-old boy involved in a fatal Pune Porsche crash last month has been released from the remand home following a Bombay High Court order. The court’s decision came on Tuesday, instructing that the juvenile be placed under the “care and custody” of his paternal aunt.
The division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande overturned the Juvenile Justice Board’s (JJB) orders that had remanded the boy to the observation home. The judges stated, “We allow the petition and order his release. The CCL (Child in Conflict with Law) shall be in the care and custody of the petitioner (paternal aunt).”
The teenager, allegedly intoxicated at the time, was driving the luxury car that collided with a two-wheeler in the early hours of May 19, resulting in the deaths of two tech professionals, Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta. His parents, Vishal Agrawal and Shivani Agarwal, were also arrested for allegedly attempting to swap his blood samples to obstruct the investigation.
The court noted that the JJB’s remand orders were illegal and lacked jurisdiction. The bench emphasized that, amid the public outcry following the accident, the boy’s age was not properly considered. “The CCL is under 18 years old. His age needs to be considered,” the bench stated.
The court underscored the importance of adhering to the Juvenile Justice Act, which mandates that minors in conflict with the law be treated differently from adults, regardless of the crime’s severity. “CCLs are to be considered differently,” the HC said, adding that the boy is already undergoing rehabilitation, which is the primary goal, and is seeing a psychologist.
The order came in response to a plea filed by the boy’s paternal aunt, who argued that he was illegally detained due to public and political pressure, which she claimed had skewed the police investigation. This ruling follows the Pune police’s recent submission of their final report to the JJB, detailing the evidence against the teenager.
The court’s decision highlights the necessity of treating juvenile offenders within the framework of the Juvenile Justice Act, focusing on rehabilitation rather than punishment, even in the face of serious allegations.