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)
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First Published:
July 15, 2025, 20:47 IST
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