A committee tasked with investigating alleged irregularities in the handling of the Pune Porsche crash case by a non-judicial member of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) has identified significant lapses, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Dr LN Danwade, the non-judicial member of the JJB, had granted bail to a 17-year-old teenager accused of driving a Porsche involved in a fatal accident that claimed the lives of two IT engineers. The decision to release the teen on bail within 15 hours of the incident has come under scrutiny for several procedural deficiencies, the committee’s confidential 100-page report to the Social Justice Department revealed.
Among the issues highlighted by the committee, Dr. Danwade allegedly overlooked flaws in the blood report, which did not originate from the police as per standard practice. Furthermore, the committee noted that the JJB failed to establish a roster, and Dr. Danwade’s decision to grant bail was deemed premature, lacking the presence of other JJB members during the court proceedings.
“The bail order should have been deliberated with the full JJB Bench, considering the glaring inconsistencies,” the committee stated in its report, suggesting that the decision would likely have been overturned had it been reviewed promptly.
In response to these findings, show cause notices have been issued to all JJB members, including non-judicial appointees, demanding explanations for the alleged procedural flaws.
Pune Porsche crash occurred when the teenager, son of a prominent builder, collided with a motorcycle in the early hours of May 19, resulting in the deaths of Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both IT professionals from Madhya Pradesh. Police investigations indicated that the teenager was driving under the influence at the time of the accident.
In a separate development linked to the case, the teenager’s parents have been detained by the police in connection with allegations of tampering with his blood samples at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital.
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Initially, the bail conditions included requirements such as writing a 300-word essay on road safety and furnishing bonds worth Rs 15,000. However, these terms were later revised amid widespread public outcry and indications from the police that the teenager would face charges as an adult, subsequently leading to his placement in a remand home.
The committee’s findings underscore ongoing concerns about the handling of juvenile justice cases and raise questions about adherence to due process in high-profile incidents involving minors accused of serious offenses.
