The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to a man who was barely 16 when he allegedly killed a 7-year-old boy at a private school in Gurugram, three days after the Juvenile Justice Board ordered that he be tried as an adult. The incident that stunned the capital region of the country took place in 2017.
A bench comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and J. K. Maheshwari said that further detention of the accused until the completion of the trial could have a negative impact on him. “Accordingly, the prayer for interim relief is granted and pending further orders of this Court, that is, as an interim measure, the applicant will be granted bail on such conditions as may be fixed by the Gurugram Magistrate.
“However, it is specifically provided that the applicant must remain under the supervision of a probation officer or any other person appointed by the Sessions Judge at all times. It is also made clear that the applicant and his parents are expected not to obstruct the trial and therefore not to attempt to contact or communicate with any of the witnesses…” – stated court
The court said that if there is any defect in the conduct of the applicant, the probation officer can bring it to the notice of the sessions judge, who will forward the information to the high court. Advocate Sushil Tekriwal, representing the victim’s family, told PTI, “We will make every effort to ensure that the trial is conducted speedily and will leave no stone unturned to get a conviction.” The Supreme Court will now hear the case in January 2023.
The Juvenile Court ruled on October 17 that the accused will be tried in the case as an adult. The court made the ruling after receiving an opinion from psychologists on whether, as a teenager at the time of the crime, he understood the extent of the crime and its consequences. In its charge sheet, the CBI alleged that the teenager killed his younger brother on September 8, 2017, to get the exams postponed and the planned parent meeting cancelled. The victim’s body was found with her throat slit in a school toilet in Bondsi area of Gurgaon in Haryana. The CBI took over the case from the Gurgaon police on September 22, 2017, following a nationwide uproar over the gruesome murder.
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