Mercedes hit-and-run case: Teen to be tried as adult

The presiding officer of the JJB passed the order on the application of Delhi police which had sought transfer of the case to trial court to try as adult as the accused became a major just four days after the April 4 incident. It is the first of its kind case since the amendment to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which allowed the board to transfer cases of heinous offences by children to sessions court.

As per section 2(33) of the Act, ‘heinous offences’ include the offences for which minimum punishment under IPC or any other law for the time being in force is imprisonment for seven years or more.

The police had on May 26 chargesheeted the juvenile in the JJB for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder entails a maximum of 10 years’ jail.

The JJB had reserved its order on Friday after hearing for over an hour arguments by Special public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava who had said the boy belongs to the age group of 16-18 years and this offence comes under definition of ‘heinous crimes’ so his case should be transferred to the trial court. The JJB on Saturday accepted the argument and allowed the plea of Delhi police, Shrivastava said.

Police had said in its charge sheet that the boy had fatally run over victim Siddharth Sharma with his father’s Mercedes when Sharma was trying to cross a road near Ludlow Castle School in north Delhi on April 4. Police had said that the car was being driven at a speed of at least 80 km per hour and Sharma was flung several feet into the air by the impact of the crash and landed around 15 metres away from where he stood.