In an unprecedented development, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) on Saturday ruled in the favour of a police plea to try the minor accused in Delhi's Mercedes hit-and-run case as adult in a trail court.
The police had moved JJB requesting permission to move the hearing in the case to a regular court as the accused teenager turned major four days after the car accident that killed a 32-year-old marketing executive.
According to the reports, the JJB was of the opinion that the accused juvenile at the time of the incident was not lacking in mental or physical capacity to commit the alleged crime. The board was also convinced that the accused had the ability to understand the consequences of the offence.
The JJC had reserved its order on Friday after listening to the over hour-long arguments made by Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastav. The prosecutor argued that the accused teenager was a repeated traffic offender and was fined four times earlier for over-speeding, not wearing seat belt, parking wrongly. He also noted that the accused earlier had "bluffed the court and the police by claiming to be a major".
Shrivastav further argued that boy belongs to the age group of 16-18 years and this offence comes under definition of "heinous crimes" so his trial should be transferred to the trial court.
The police on May 26 had chargesheeted the juvenile the teenager for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder entails a maximum of 10 years jail.
Initially, a case under IPC sections 304 A (causing death by rash or negligent act) was lodged against the boy but later on he was booked for the alleged offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and he was sent to the reform home.
The police had said in its charge sheet that the boy had run over marketing executive Siddharth Sharma with his father's Mercedes when Sharma was trying to cross a road near Ludlow Castle School in north Delhi on April 4.
The final report was filed for alleged offences under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 279 (driving on a public way so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life) and 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life) against him.
The police also annexed the statements of witnesses including that of the youth's friends supporting its case.
The Board had on April 26 granted bail to the youth who sought the relief to appear in entrance examinations.
The police had said that the car was being driven at a speed of at least 80 km per hour and Sharma was flung several feet into the air by the impact of the crash and landed around 15 metres away from where he stood.
After the incident, a group of youths stepped out of the vehicle and fled from the spot abandoning the car there, the police had said. The police had earlier arrested a man who claimed to be the actual driver of the Mercedes at the time of the incident but he did a volte-face after he got to know the victim was dead.
The driver and the boy's father, who was also arrested earlier, were granted bail by the court.
The youth had appeared before a Delhi court to surrender and moved a bail plea which was rejected on the ground that it was a matter of JJB. He was then produced before the board.
(With inputs from PTI)
