The Bombay High Court on Tuesday ordered the release of minor accused in the Pune Porsche accident case. The court declared the remand order illegal and set it aside.
Since the minor's parents and grandfather are presently behind bars, the custody of the teenager has been given to his paternal aunt, the court said.
The bench of Justices Bharti Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande, while granting him relief, said that though the accident was unfortunate, he cannot be kept in an observation home.
A Porsche, allegedly driven by the 17-year-old, crashed into a bike, two software engineers in the city in May.
He was granted bail the same day by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) and ordered to be put under the care and supervision of his parents and grandfather under one of the conditions that a 300-word essay needed to be written on road safety.
However, after public outcry, the police later filed an application before the board, seeking amendment of the bail order. On May 22, the board ordered the boy to be taken into custody and remanded him to an observation home.
"We allow the petition and order his release. The CCL (Child in Conflict with Law/minor) shall be in the care and custody of the petitioner (paternal aunt)," the court said. The bench noted that the JJB's remand orders were illegal and passed without jurisdiction.
The court was hearing his aunt's plea against this alleged illegal remand of the minor in an observation home and sought that he be released.
Advocates Aabad Ponda and Prashant Patil, appearing for the aunt, had submitted that when a valid bail order was in existence, without challenging that or getting the bail cancelled, the Pune police could not have moved another application for sending the minor to an observation home.
The Bombay High Court had said on June 22 that the teen accused in the Pune Porsche accident was also in trauma, and he should be given some time.
Notably, the minor's parents, as well as his grandfather, were arrested in various cases registered against them in connection with the accident, including destroying evidence, coercing the family driver to allegedly take the blame that he was the one driving the car instead of the minor.
The teen's father, Vishal Agarwal, was granted bail by the Pune Sessions Court on June 22 in a case against him for allowing an unlicensed minor to operate an unregistered vehicle. However, he will remain in jail due to ongoing legal cases stemming from the incident.
