Last Updated on June 15, 2024 by News Desk
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 has been unlawfully and arbitrarily detained by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in an observation home. The case was heard by a division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande.
Chief Public Prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar, appearing for the JJB, opposed the petition on maintainability, claiming that the juvenile was remanded to the observation home through a legal order.
Senior advocate Abad Ponda, representing the petitioner, prayed for immediate release of the juvenile and sought time to amend the petition to append the order of June 13, which extended the juvenile’s detention in the observation home
The juvenile, a son of a prominent builder in Pune, hit a motorcycle with his Porsche car in Kalyani Nagar area, claiming the lives of two persons. He was booked for rash and negligent driving and causing harm by endangering safety of lives and death by negligence under sections 304A, 279, 337 and 338 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with provisions of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Act.
He was granted bail on May 19 but later remanded to an observation home.The petitioner argued that the juvenile was required to be protected under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act to prevent him from becoming a hardened criminal. She also pointed out that the JJB could not take the minor from his grandfather’s custody without reviewing the earlier order.
The petitioner sought the court’s intervention to protect the spirit of justice and ensure that mainstream media’s reporting does not bypass the legal process.
