Allowing a petition filed by the boy's paternal aunt Pooja G. Jain, a division bench comprising Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Manjusha Deshpande ordered the release of the minor and his handover to the care and custody of the petitioner.
The boy has been lodged in a juvenile correctional facility in Pune for over a month and soon after, his 'buwa' Pooja Jain filed the petition in the Bombay High Court seeking his release.
Declaring the JJB remand orders (dated May 22, June 5 and June 12) as "illegal and incompetent", the high court, however, ordered that the counseling sessions by a psychologist continue. even after the child is released.
Official sources told IANS that the minor is likely to be released "today or tomorrow" and depending on the government's stand, a decision will be taken on the high court order.
During the hearings, the high court questioned how and under what authority the JJB could place the boy in a juvenile observation center after he had already been released on bail on May 19 (hours after the Porsche accident), and observed that the preventive detention order and its subsequent extensions had completely nullified the effects of the bail.
Arguing for bail for the minor, Jain's lawyer Abad Ponda said that once a minor has been granted bail he cannot be admitted to an observation centre, and emphasized that the bail was in effect to date, as the boy had not been held - he was arrested on additional charges and a higher court did not cancel the bail that had been granted to him.
Consequently, the boy remained under "illegal detention", with Ponda noting that instead of challenging the bail order, the authorities had filed an application citing concerns such as public outrage and the minor's alleged addiction.
Ponda further maintained that the boy could not be sent to the correctional center while on bail under the Juvenile Justice Act, Section 39 (2) and order of remand without canceling bail is not permissible even under other strict laws like TADA or MCOCA.
Contrary to the statement, prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar said that the boy was released in the custody of his grandfather and not on bail, but since the grandfather and even the parents were in custody, the minor had to be sent to a center observational. under the supervision of a probation officer.
Stating that the JJB had just changed the person under whose care the minor was placed, Venegaonkar said the state does not want to cancel the boy's bail but sent him to the juvenile home for his own safety and well-being, taking into account several Other considerations.
The boy has been lodged in a juvenile correctional facility in Pune for over a month and soon after, his 'buwa' Pooja Jain filed the petition in the Bombay High Court seeking his release.
Declaring the JJB remand orders (dated May 22, June 5 and June 12) as "illegal and incompetent", the high court, however, ordered that the counseling sessions by a psychologist continue. even after the child is released.
Official sources told IANS that the minor is likely to be released "today or tomorrow" and depending on the government's stand, a decision will be taken on the high court order.
During the hearings, the high court questioned how and under what authority the JJB could place the boy in a juvenile observation center after he had already been released on bail on May 19 (hours after the Porsche accident), and observed that the preventive detention order and its subsequent extensions had completely nullified the effects of the bail.
Arguing for bail for the minor, Jain's lawyer Abad Ponda said that once a minor has been granted bail he cannot be admitted to an observation centre, and emphasized that the bail was in effect to date, as the boy had not been held - he was arrested on additional charges and a higher court did not cancel the bail that had been granted to him.
Consequently, the boy remained under "illegal detention", with Ponda noting that instead of challenging the bail order, the authorities had filed an application citing concerns such as public outrage and the minor's alleged addiction.
Ponda further maintained that the boy could not be sent to the correctional center while on bail under the Juvenile Justice Act, Section 39 (2) and order of remand without canceling bail is not permissible even under other strict laws like TADA or MCOCA.
Contrary to the statement, prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar said that the boy was released in the custody of his grandfather and not on bail, but since the grandfather and even the parents were in custody, the minor had to be sent to a center observational. under the supervision of a probation officer.
Stating that the JJB had just changed the person under whose care the minor was placed, Venegaonkar said the state does not want to cancel the boy's bail but sent him to the juvenile home for his own safety and well-being, taking into account several Other considerations.