Pune Porsche crash: Probe panel identifies lapses in Juvenile Justice Board’s bail decision; WCD sends notice to JJB members

The committee investigating the conduct of Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) members in the Pune Porsche crash case has discovered procedural lapses in granting bail to the minor accused, PTI reported.

The five-member panel was established last month by the Maharashtra Woman and Child Development Department (WCD) to review whether proper norms were followed while issuing orders in the case.

After receiving the panel’s report, the WCD issued notices to two JJB members appointed by the department on Saturday.

Earlier, the Pune JJB extended the minor’s remand in the observation home for 14 more days, citing ongoing psychological counseling. The juvenile will stay at the observation home until the next hearing on June 25.

Two IT engineers, Aneesh Awadhiya and his friend Ashwini Koshta, both 24 and hailing from Madhya Pradesh, lost their lives when a Porsche, driven by a 17-year-old boy under the influence of alcohol, crashed into their motorcycle at Pune’s Kalyani Nagar junction at around 2:30 am on May 19.

After the accident, the minor was detained and brought before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in Pune on the afternoon of May 19. The police requested his custody in the juvenile observation home and also appealed for him to be tried as an adult.

However, the JJB, which had only one non-judicial member present instead of the full three-member panel, including a judicial member, rejected both requests. The minor was granted bail with conditions such as writing an essay, studying traffic safety norms, and undergoing de-addiction counseling.