Published on: June 17, 2024 22:48 IST
The aunt of a juvenile accused in a Pune Porsche car accident has filed a plea with the Bombay High Court, alleging that the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) has unlawfully and arbitrarily detained the minor in an observation home. The case was heard by a division bench consisting of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande.
Chief Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar, representing the JJB, opposed the petition on maintainability grounds, stating that the juvenile was remanded to the observation home by a legal order.
Senior advocate Abad Ponda, representing the petitioner, called for the immediate release of the juvenile and requested time to amend the petition to include the order of June 13, which extended the juvenile’s detention in the observation home.
The juvenile, son of a prominent builder in Pune, was involved in an accident in Kalyani Nagar where his Porsche car hit a motorcycle, resulting in the deaths of two individuals. He was charged with rash and negligent driving, endangering lives, and causing death by negligence under sections 304A, 279, 337, and 338 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Act.
Initially granted bail on May 19, he was later remanded to an observation home. The petitioner argued that the juvenile should be protected under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act to prevent him from becoming a hardened criminal. She also noted that the JJB could not remove the minor from his grandfather’s custody without reviewing the previous order.
The petitioner sought the court’s intervention to uphold the spirit of justice and ensure that media reporting does not circumvent the legal process.