Supreme Court has granted interim bail to the accused in the 2017 murder of a class 2 student at a private school in Gurgaon, while emphasizing that neither he nor his parents should interfere with the trial or communicate with the witnesses.
The bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and J K Maheshwari noted that the accused, who was enrolled in class 11 at the time of his arrest, spent five years in an observation home. Additionally, the court ordered him to remain under the supervision of a probation officer or any other person appointed by the session court. “…by way of an interim measure, the petitioner-appellant is released on bail subject to conditions that the sessions judge may impose in Gurugram. However, it is specifically provided that the petitioner-appellant shall be continuously supervised by a probation officer or other person appointed by the session judge. Furthermore, it is made clear that the petitioner and his parents will not interfere with the trial of the case and will not attempt to contact or communicate with any of the witnesses,” the bench stated.
The father of the victim opposed the grant of interim bail citing the vulnerability of witnesses. He urged the court to consider the relief only after examining material witnesses. According to him, both the father and uncle of the accused were powerful individuals.
However, the court noted that the father had already been “taken to task” in an earlier order. It was stated by the bench that even though the crime was barbaric and horrifying, there must still be balance in the law.
On September 17, 2017, the victim’s body was found in the school bathroom with his throat slit. Although the local police claimed that the school bus conductor committed the crime after the boy attempted to resist his attempts at molestation, the CBI, which was entrusted with the investigation due to public pressure, focused its attention on his senior. According to the prosecution, this was allegedly done to postpone examinations and cancel a parent-teacher meeting.
