Supreme Court allows bail to accused in Gurugram school murder case

The Juvenile Justice Board had recently decided that the man should be tried as an adult and not as a juvenile

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed bail to a 21-year-old man accused of murdering his seven-year-old schoolmate in a washroom at their Gurugram private school in 2017.

The man was released on bail after spending a little over five years in detention. He was 16 years and four months old at the time of the incident.

Granting interim relief, a Bench led by Justice Dinesh Maheshwari clarified that the man should continuously remain under the supervision of a probationary officer or any other official appointed by the Gurugram Sessions Judge.

The Bench, also comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari, ordered that neither the man or his parents should create any "hindrance in the trial of the case" or contact any of the witnesses.

Any shortcoming in the conduct of the man would be reported by the supervisory officer to the Sessions Judge, who would file a report with comments in the Supreme Court.

Justifying the interim order, the Court said it was compelled to strike a balance as it could not ignore the fact that the man had already spent five years in detention since he was 16.4 years old and cannot continue to be detained till the "trial" was completed.

The Court, highlighting the tragedy of the incident which led to the death of a child, said it could not also ignore the apprehensions raised by the victim's loved ones about the man's family trying to hamper the case if let out on bail. They had pointed out that several of the witnesses were of a vulnerable age and should be protected to ensure free and fair proceedings.