The Juvenile Justice Board on Saturday ruled that the teenager who had driven into a 32-year-old business consultant with his speeding Mercedes in north Delhi be tried as an adult. The Board said the accused had the ability to understand the consequences of his actions, reported ANI.
The accident took place on April 4, when the victim Sidhharth Sharma was crossing a road. According to CCTV footage and police sources, the teenager – who turned 18 just four days after the accident – was driving the car at 80 km per hour. While filing the chargesheet against him last month, the police sought that he be tried as an adult. On Friday, Special Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava told the Juvenile Justice Board that the offence committed by the teenager came under the definition of heinous crime and hence he should be tried as an adult.
The minor was arrested on April 5, but was soon released on bail as he had been booked under Section 304A (causing death by rash or negligent act) of the Indian Penal Code. After widespread public outrage, the police arrested him again under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and Section 201 (destruction of evidence) of the IPC.
The juvenile’s father was also arrested on charges of abetting the crime after it was found out that he had given his son the vehicle’s keys despite knowing of past accidents he had caused. The Juvenile Justice Board granted bail to the minor on April 26.
The accused had been fined three times last year – twice for speeding and once for wrong parking. He was also allegedly involved in another accident in February this year, but no police complaints were filed.
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