Pune luxury car crash: 90-day process to determine whether teen should be tried as adult, says lawyer

PUNE: A Juvenile Justice Board will decide whether or not the teenager involved in mowing down two people with his luxury race car earlier this week, should be tried as an adult, the lawyer representing the accused said.

Addressing media persons here on Wednesday, Prashant Patil, lawyer of the accused said, "The Juvenile Justice Act has procedures to determine whether the accused Child in Conflict with Law (CCL) be considered a minor or an adult. It takes almost 90 days to conduct this procedure."

"If a juvenile or CCL is arrested, investigative agencies must file a charge sheet within 30 days of the arrest to consider them as an adult. After the charge sheet is filed, a two-month procedure follows, which includes psychological and social assessments along with a de-addiction test," he said.

According to the lawyer, the individual doesn't need to remain in rehabilitation for these procedures, as the investigation is carried out further. Patil said that the Juvenile Justice Board monitors the assessments through regular reports and complaints reports and decides after nearly 90 days whether to treat the minor or CCL as an adult.

He further said, "In response to the applications from investigation agencies to modify the bail issued, the honourable Juvenile Justice Board on the operative orders, has directed to keep the Child in Conflict with Law (CCL) to keep in a rehabilitation home for 14 days, until June 5.

"We have opposed the application based on academic considerations and legal points. There were debates and arguments in court from both sides, with both parties citing quotes from the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court," he said.

Patil further explained that the Juvenile Justice Board has set parameters regarding rehabilitating CCL within the 15-day remand period. These details will be fully outlined upon receipt of the written order.

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) on Wednesday evening cancelled the bail of the 17-year-old accused of mowing down a biker and a pillion rider in his Porsche in the early hours of May 19. The accused was sent to a remand home for 14 days, until June 5.

Pune Commissioner of Police, Amitesh Kumar said that they had filed in a review application before the Juvenile Justice Board to allow the juvenile to be treated as an adult in the case and also to send him in the remand home.

Two IT professionals, identified as Ashwini Koshta and Aneesh Awadhia, both from Madhya Pradesh, were killed in the accident.

According to officials, the accused's father had not cooperated in the investigation, prompting Pune police to seek him for further questioning in the case.

When the police gave him notice to join the investigation before his arrest, he misled them by stating that he was in Shirdi. He was, however, found to be in Aurangabad.

Police also sought the custody of the staff of the bar where the accused teenager and his friend were served liquor. Allegedly, the 17-year-old later crashed luxury car he was driving into a motorcycle resulting in the deaths of two people.

Police said there was no board on the premises of the bar that said alcohol couldn't be served to minors.

The Pune Excise Department on Tuesday sealed the bars which allegedly served liquor to the minor before the accident, officials reported. The managers of the bars were also arrested by the police.