Pune Porsche Crash: Police To Challenge Juvenile Board's Decision To Try Accused As Minor
The Pune city police have decided to challenge the Juvenile Justice Board 's decision, which allowed the 17-year-old boy accused in the Porsche car crash to be tried as a minor for the trial in the case, in a higher court.
The accused allegedly drove a Porsche in the Kalyani Nagar area of Pune in an inebriated state in May last year, mowing down two motorcycle-borne IT professionals – Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa.
The case sparked nationwide outrage when the boy was granted bail after just writing a 300-word essay on road safety, after which he was sent to an observation home. He was released on the orders of the Bombay High Court on June 25, 2024.
Juvenile Board's Decision In Pune Porsche Case
Police had filed an application before the Juvenile Justice Board, seeking that the child in conflict with the law be tried as an adult in this case, citing the 'heinous" nature of the crime. The police cited sections of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, arguing that not only were two persons crushed to death but there were also attempts to tamper with the evidence.
However, the Juvenile Board on Tuesday rejected the plea by police to treat the boy as an adult for the trial. Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa said the intent behind Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice Act is fundamentally rooted in the principle of reformation for children in conflict with the law.
Defence counsel Prashant Patil told news agency PTI that he opposed the prosecution's demand to treat the teenager as an adult.
'We had cited a Supreme Court Judgement – Shilpa Mittal Vs State in which the SC has defined what constitutes a heinous crime. The guidelines decided by the Supreme Court are binding on everyone. However, the plea by the prosecution is contrary to the apex court's judgement. We demanded that since the plea is contrary to the SC guidelines, it is not maintainable," he said.
Patil argued that there was not a single section in the case that required a minimum punishment of seven years, hence the Board did not determine that the boy should be treated as an adult.
The police will now challenge the decision in a higher court.
Evidence Tampering
Earlier this month, the prosecution told the court that attempts were made to swap blood samples at a second hospital to save the juvenile accused, but they were thwarted.
The Pune police, who first got blood samples of the minor collected at the Sassoon Hospital, suspected that there was a possibility of tampering, as per the prosecution.
The teenager's blood samples were later collected at the Aundh Government Hospital, but some of the other accused, including his parents, got news of it and approached hospital authorities to swap the samples. However, the doctors refused to cooperate and turned them away.
At least 10 people, including the teenager's parents, were arrested in the case. The boy's mother is out on bail, but the remaining nine are currently in jail.
(with agency inputs)
view comments
First Published:
July 15, 2025, 20:47 IST
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
8yo Dalit girl's testimony leads to 30-yr jail for man in rape case
Agra: A 28-year-old man from Etah was sentenced to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old Dalit girl, a Class 3 student, after luring her with Rs 10 while she was collecting mangoes from an orchard near her home. The survivor's "detailed and consistent account" of the incident was instrumental in securing the conviction. According to additional district govt counsel (ADGC) Pradeep Gupta, the incident took place on June 2, 2018, but came to light five days later when the child complained of abdominal pain and disclosed the assault to her mother. A case was registered on June 7 under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation), along with relevant provisions of the Pocso Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. "Initially, the police filed a final report citing lack of evidence. However, the court took cognisance after the girl's mother submitted a protest petition. On Feb 2, 2019, the court deemed the allegations substantial and initiated trial proceedings," Gupta said. He added, "The convict, who worked as a cook in Manesar, Haryana, claimed he was falsely implicated due to a dispute with the girl's mother, but the child's testimony proved pivotal in countering his defence. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Dubai villas | search ads Get Deals Undo A medical examination at Agra's SN Medical College further corroborated the charges." During the hearing, the man sought leniency, citing it as his first offence and pointing to his responsibilities toward his family, including two young children. However, the additional district and sessions judge, Sarika Goyal, rejected his plea and delivered its verdict on Tuesday, underlining the gravity of the offence and the strength of the evidence, particularly the survivor's statement. In addition to the jail term, the convict was fined Rs 1,05,000, which the court directed be paid to the girl's family for her rehabilitation. Failure to pay will result in an additional year of imprisonment.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
‘Compromise sought is nothing but abuse of law — Supreme Court upholds HC order in tenancy dispute in Goa
The Supreme Court Monday upheld an order of the Bombay High Court at Goa, which refused to grant permission to the consent terms finalised by an agricultural association of villagers with tenants, observing that the proposed terms are an attempt to circumvent the statutory framework laid down in the Goa, Daman and Diu Agricultural Tenancy Act, 1964 and also violates the Goa Land Use (Regulation) Act, 1991. The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by the 'Comunidade' – an agricultural association of villagers that has properties in common – of Tivim regarding a tenancy dispute over two properties in Tivim village in Bardez taluka, Goa. The properties were leased by the Comunidade to tenants in 1978. A civil suit was filed by the predecessor of private respondents for entering their name as tenants in the survey numbers for the two properties. The suit was decreed in 1986 and the name of the predecessor of respondents was entered as tenant of properties. After the predecessor passed away, the private respondents filed a tenancy application before a trial court. In 2017, the trial court allowed the tenancy application, declaring the private respondents as agricultural tenants of the properties. Aggrieved by the declaration of tenancy, the Comunidade filed an appeal before the Appellate Court, which remains pending. During pendency of the appeal, the Comunidade resolved that as a compromise, the land in dispute be bifurcated, with 60 percent of the land being allotted to the tenants and 40 percent land to be retained by the Comunidade. The Administrative Tribunal refused to grant permission to the Comunidade for filing of the consent terms in 2023 under Article 154 (3) of the Code of Communides. The Comunidade then filed a writ petition in the High Court, which upheld the Tribunal's decision last year. The Supreme Court held that the administrative tribunal has rightly refused to grant permission to the consent terms finalised by the Comunidade. In the judgment, a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and K Vinod Chandran said, '…the proposed consent terms or the compromise sought to be entered by the appellant with the private respondents falls foul of both the statutes i.e. the Tenancy Act and the Land Use Act, in so far as it creates freehold ownership rights over tenanted land, without resorting to the procedure contemplated for the purchase of such land by the tenant and secondly, for the reason that these terms effectively allow the appellant, as well as the private respondents, to use an agricultural land for non agricultural purposes.' The court said the compromise not only circumvents procedural aspects of the Tenancy Act, but also allows the parties to use the suit properties for a purpose which is expressly barred by the Land Use Act. 'The compromise sought by the parties is nothing but an abuse of the process of law. The so-called compromise or agreement is a ploy to defeat the provisions of law and therefore it has been rightly denied the legal sanctity which was sought. If the proposed consent terms are to be allowed, not only would the tenant be conferred full ownership rights, in complete disregard of the procedure for purchase mentioned above, but it would also mean that the tenant would be conferred a right to alienate land, without seeking permission of any statutory authority,' the Court said. 'It is abundantly clear that by means of the proposed compromise, the parties have essentially terminated the tenancy, without recourse to any of the modes referred to in Section 9 of the [Tenancy] Act,' the court added.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
ENT doctor arrested for defacing Karunanidhi statue in Salem
SALEM: The Hastampatti police in Salem city arrested an ENT doctor on Wednesday for defacing a 16-foot-tall bronze statue of former chief minister Karunanidhi in Anna Park. Police said the doctor poured black paint on the statue due to mental distress arising from family issues. The arrested doctor has been identified as Dr H N Viswanathan of Four Roads area. He runs Arunagiri ENT Nursing Home in the area. The police identified the suspect after checking CCTV footage. "He admitted to defacing the statue when we approached him for questioning," assistant commissioner K M Aswini told TOI. She noted that the doctor had been experiencing severe mental stress for several weeks due to family issues. The police booked the doctor under sections 196 (Promoting enmity between different groups and disturbing public tranquillity) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the BNS and sections of the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Destruction and Loss) Act, 1982. He was remanded in judicial custody.
