Pune, 24 June

The prosecution has urged the Juvenile Justice Board to treat a 17-year-old boy accused of driving a Porsche car in an inebriated state and mowing down two persons last year in Pune as an adult, saying he committed a "heinous" act.

The incident, which hit national headlines, took place in Kalyani Nagar area on 19 May last year, resulting in the deaths of motorcycle-borne IT professionals Anish Awadhiya and his friend Ashwini Costa.

It has been more than a year since the Pune police's plea seeking the accused be tried as an adult is pending before the Juvenile Justice Board.

"The Pune police had moved an application before the JJB after the accident that the teen should be treated as an adult for the trial. But the defence sought adjournment multiple times. The defence was not allowing the hearing to take place," special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray said on Monday.

"Today, finally, the hearing on the plea took place. We demanded that the teen be treated as an adult for the trial," Hiray said.

The prosecutor said he argued that the act committed by the juvenile was "heinous" as not only were two persons crushed to death but there were also attempts to tamper with the evidence.

"I drew the JJB members' attention to the gravity of the crime. I argued that it was known to the juvenile that he could cause harm to others by driving a car in an inebriated condition," Hiray said.

The juvenile's lawyer, Prashant Patil, who opposed the prosecution's demand, said he cited the Supreme Court's judgment in the Shilpa Mittal versus State case, which defines what is a heinous crime.

"The plea by the prosecution is contrary to the Supreme Court's judgement. We demanded that since the plea is contrary to the guidelines of the Supreme Court, it is not maintainable. To define a certain crime as heinous, the prosecution must have a section in which minimum punishment is seven years," Patil said.

In the present case, there is not a single section in which the minimum punishment is seven years, he said.

The JJB has to carry out preliminary assessment to determine whether a child in conflict with law should be treated as an adult or a minor, Patil said.

"In this case, the JJB has already done that. And it has not come in their preliminary assessment that he should be treated as an adult," he added.

The accused teenager got bail hours after the accident on 19 May last year.

The lenient bail terms, including asking the minor to write a 300-word essay on road safety, triggered a nationwide firestorm, following which he was sent to an observation home in Pune city three days later.

On 25 June, 2024, the Bombay High Court directed that the boy be released immediately, saying the Juvenile Justice Board’s orders remanding him to an observation home were illegal and the law regarding juveniles must be implemented fully.