Ryan murder case: Gurugram court rejects bail of accused teenager

A Gurugram court on Monday rejected the bail plea of a 16-year-old student accused of killing 7-year- old Pradhuman Thakur at the Ryan International School in Gurugram. 

On Saturday, Additional Sessions Judge Jasbir Singh Kundu had reserved the order after hearing arguments of the counsel for the accused, the CBI and the complainant. 

The accused had filed a fresh bail application in this regard.

During the argument session, the defence counsel claimed that the charge sheet was not filed within one month, as prescribed in the Juvenile Justice Act, and he was not given required documents.

However, the CBI opposed the contentions, saying the mandatory period for filing a charge sheet is 90 days under Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provisions, as the accused had been declared an adult by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

On December 20, the board said the teenager would be tried as an adult and directed that he be produced before the Gurgaon sessions court.

The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 lowers the age of juveniles from 18 years to 16 years for heinous crimes such as rape, murder and dacoity-cum- murder, which warrant at least seven years of imprisonment.

Pradhuman was found dead with his throat slit in the school's washroom on September 8 last year.

The Gurgaon Police had claimed the crime was committed by a school bus conductor and arrested him. 

Later he was released by the CBI for having any involvement in the murder.