Pune Porsche accident: Bombay High Court orders ‘immediate’ release of accused teen, says ’age not considered’

Pune Porsche car accident: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday issued an order for the immediate release of a 17-year-old boy linked to the recent Porsche car accident in Pune from an observation home. The teen was accused of illegally driving a Porsche car, in an inebriated state, when his car rammed into a two-wheeler killing two techies from Madhya Pradesh.

The Bombay High Court division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande quashed the orders issued by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) remanding the minor to the observation home.

“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 court said.

The bench noted that the JJB's remand orders were illegal and passed without jurisdiction. The court said amid the "immediate reaction to the accident, the kneejerk reaction, and the public outcry, the CCL's age was not considered."

The bench said, “The CCL is under 18 years old. His age needs to be considered.”

It said the court was bound by law and the aims and objectives of the Juvenile Justice Act and must treat him as any child in conflict with the law, separately from an adult, despite the seriousness of the crime.

"CCLs are to be considered differently," the HC said.

The order was passed in a plea filed by the 17-year-old boy's paternal aunt, who claimed he was illegally detained and sought his immediate release. The boy's aunt, in the plea, argued that because of the public uproar coupled with political agenda, the police deviated from the right course of investigation with regards to the minor boy, thus defeating the entire purpose of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.

Prashant Patil, lawyer of the minor accused said, "Today we challenged the three remands of the juvenile justice board before the high court... We argued...and released for his immediate release. Today, the court has directed for the release. The custody has to be granted to the paternal aunt..."

The teenager, accused by police of driving drunk in a luxury car that collided with a two-wheeler on May 19, resulting in the deaths of two techies, had been housed at an observation home in Pune, Maharashtra.

After the fatal May 19 accident, the juvenile involved was initially granted bail on flimsy grounds but was later remanded to an observation home by the Juvenile Justice Board on May 22, following a police request to amend the bail order. The boy's family claimed undue influence on the investigation.

On May 22, the boy was ordered to be taken into custody and remanded to an observation home.