The 16-year-old student of Ryan International School, accused of murdering a junior, will be tried as an adult, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in Gurugram said on Wednesday.
The Board, ruling on an application of the victim’s father, said the juvenile would be tried as an adult and produced before the sessions court on December 22.
Sushil Tekriwal, lawyer of the victim’s father, termed it a “turning point” in the case. “The verdict of the board that the juvenile will be treated and tried as an adult is historic. The juvenile will now be produced before a sessions court and the judge will then assign the case to the relevant Child Sessions Court for the trial,” said Mr. Tekriwal, while coming out of the JJB after the verdict.
Mr. Tekriwal said the verdict meant that the juvenile, if convicted, would not be set free after three years and could be sentenced to even 14 years in jail. “In case of conviction, the juvenile will stay in the Observation Home till the age of 21. But as per Section 21 of the JJ Act, he cannot be sentenced to death or life imprisonment.”
The lawyer said he was yet to receive the copy of the order, but the court had broadly based its decision on the findings of the Social Investigation Report and the Psychological Report of the juvenile and the amendments carried out in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 with effect from January 15, 2016. The two reports had indicated that the juvenile was hyper-aggressive, upset and restless.
Moving the application on November 15, seeking the trial of the juvenile as an adult, the victim’s father argued that the manner in which the throat of the seven-year-old was slit showed that the crime was “chilling”, “horrific” and “serious” in nature.
