Pune Porsche crash case : Minor released from observation home, placed in custody of aunt

The minor’s lawyer advocate Prashant Patil said, “The Child in Conflict with Law was released from the observation home around 8.30 pm on Wednesday as per HC directions. He will be placed under custody of his paternal aunt.”

The initial remand of the minor, which had started on May 22 at the observation home for juveniles in conflict with law, had ended on June 5. After the hearing on the police’s plea seeking an extension, the remand was extended June 12. The police sought further extension 14 days in the remand, which the defence lawyers had opposed. The defence had filed a plea for the minor to be released into the care of his relatives. After hearing both sides, the JJB had extended his remand till Tuesday.

Police had at the time argued that the psychological counselling of the Child in Conflict with Law (CCL) was underway at the observation home by state appointed experts at the facility. They argued that the completion of this process was important and for that the remand be extended.

Following his detention after the accident on May 19, the minor was produced before the JJB in Pune in the afternoon of the same day. The police had sought his custody in the juvenile observation home and had also appealed that he be tried as an adult. The JJB — which consisted of just one non-judicial member on Sunday instead of its full strength of three, including one judicial member — had then rejected applications and had granted bail to the accused on various conditions, including writing an essay, studying traffic safety norms and undergoing de-addiction counselling.

Pune police had then challenged the JJB order in the district court which referred the matter back to JJB to be decided again as per provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act. On May 22, the three-member JJB remanded the minor to the observation home till June 5 with psychological and de-addiction counselling among the terms for rehabilitation and reform.

In the early hours of May 19, the intoxicated juvenile, while allegedly driving his Porsche car at high speed crashed into a bike killing two software engineers Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta.