Teen accused in Pune Porsche crash sent to remand home. What happens next?

After much hue and cry, and public outrage, the Pune Juvenile court on Wednesday (22 May) cancelled the bail granted to the 17-year-old in the Porsche drink driving case, which claimed the lives of two people, and has remanded him to an observation/rehabilitation home until 5 June.

The move came after many questioned how the minor was let off on
bail, asking him to write a 300-word essay
. Even Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, had expressed his shock at the court’s decision, saying: “The order of the Juvenile Justice Board is shocking. We have filed a revision petition… I need not speak more on that.

“After two persons lost their lives, the 17-year-old boy was left off in an extremely lenient manner; we will not tolerate this,” he added.

But what comes next in the case? How long will he have to stay at the remand home? We explain.

Sent to remand home

In the wee hours of Sunday (19 May), the 17-year-old, who was celebrating his Class 12 results, had reportedly been drinking in Pune following which he allegedly rammed his Porsche car into a motorcycle, killing
two 24-year-old techies
in the Yerwada area.

The minor was later apprehended and presented in court. But to everyone’s shock, he was released on bail, on the condition that he wrote an essay along with few other stipulations. The court’s decision provoked public outrage, with many, including the Pune Police calling for him to be tried as an adult for the heinous crime.

Following this, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) of Pune issued a notice to him to appear before it on Wednesday (22 May). The defence and prosecution presented their arguments. The defence lawyer, Prashant Patil, told the media later that the State had argued that there is threat to the security of the CCL — Child in Conflict with Law — outside and for that he should be lodged in a rehab home. “The police also pressed that as the probe is on, the CCL should be in a remand home.”

And based off the arguments, the JJB ruled that the minor boy be remanded to the Nehru Udyog Kendra Observation Home in Yerwada until 5 June. During his stay there, he will undergo psychological assessments. The boy’s lawyer was quoted as saying that this had been done keeping in mind that there may be a threat to his life because of public anger.

In the meantime, his
father
, a prominent realtor in Pune, has been remanded to police custody after being charged under sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Inside a remand home

But what exactly is a remand home where the 17-year-old has now been sent? As per India’s Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection Children) Act of 2000, every state needs to have a remand home where juveniles who have committed crimes are sent for rehabilitation.

A study in 2012 by the Asian Center for Human Rights had revealed that 733 such homes receive assistance from the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

For minors in these institutions, life is regimented and authorities lay down a very strict routine for them. This includes a breakfast at 8 am, followed by lessons until 1 pm. At 4 pm, the inmates are provided with snacks, which is then followed up with play time. At 7 pm, they are serve dinner, which consists of vegetables, chapatti and rice. And at 8 pm, they are sent back to their dormitories.

While juvenile homes, known as remand homes or observation homes are meant for the minors to rehabilitate their lives, many reports state otherwise. A 2013 report by the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR), “India’s Hell Holes: Child Sexual Assault In Juvenile Justice Homes”, said: “It will not be an understatement to state that juvenile justice homes… have become India’s hell holes where inmates are subjected to sexual assault and exploitation, torture and ill-treatment, apart from being forced to live in inhuman conditions.”

What comes next for the minor now

The minor accused will remain in the remand home at Yerwada until 5 June following which the JJB will decide the future course of action.

In the meantime, the Pune Police are building a case against the teenager. In fact, the Pune Police have maintained that they want to try the
minor as an adult,
owing to the seriousness of the matter. Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar told NDTV that the 17-year-old accused had knowledge that his act caused death. “This case is not about an accident in which a mistake happened under the influence of alcohol and people died. Our case is that he had full knowledge that his conduct… he parties in two bars, rashly drives a car without a number plate on a narrow, congested street. He was fully in his senses and he knew that people may die because of his actions. Our case is under Section 304 of IPC which carries a jail term of 10 years.”

Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice Act allows for Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) to be tried as adults under certain circumstances. The legislation states that a child is someone who is under 18 years of age. The age of the date of the offence determines if a child is in conflict with the law and whether he or she is an adult or not.

In the case of the accused in the Pune Porsche matter, the JJB now has to decide if he should be tried as an adult or not. However, it is a long-drawn out process. The minor’s lawyer, Patil, speaking to Indian Express said that the entire process of whether his client should be tried as an adult could take as long as 60 to 90 days.

“Police have to file a chargesheet within a month of registration of offence. In two months after that, reports are to be submitted on the overall state of the CCL, including his behavioural and psychological aspects. Reports on his rehabilitation and de-addiction efforts, if any, are submitted. These factors are considered. So, the decision on whether to treat him as an adult or not, takes 60 to 90 days,” he said.

Trying minors as adults

While calls for the 17-year-old to be tried as an adult grow louder, it’s important to note that this isn’t the first time that it will happen, if the JJB decides to do so. Earlier in February, a 17-year-old was tried as an adult for raping and murdering a five-year-old in Odisha. The teen was then found guilty and sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment.

In June 2022, the police in Hyderabad had arrested five minors for the alleged rape of a 17-year-old girl in a car in Jubilee Hills area. The cops said that looking at the seriousness of the crime, the minor accused should be tried as adults. However, in April 2023, the Telangana High Court set aside the order and sent the matter back to the fifth additional chief metropolitan magistrate-cum-principal magistrate of Juvenile Justice Board “for a fresh preliminary inquiry”.

In September 2022, the Supreme Court also rejected the Kathua gang-rape-murder case accused’s juvenility to order him to face trial as an adult. The case involved the abduction, gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old Muslim girl, belonging to the nomadic Bakarwal community by six Hindu men and the minor in January 2018.

Juvenile crimes in India

As per the National Crimes Record Bureau, a total of 5,352 cases were registered against juveniles in 2022, an eight per cent dip from the previous year. The report also shows that majority (79.3 per cent) of juveniles in conflict with law apprehended were in the age group of 16 to 18 years (5,596 out of 7,061) during 2022.