The 17-year-old boy who killed two persons when his Porsche car crashed into their motorbike in May 2024 will be tried as a minor, PTI quoted the Juvenile Justice Board as saying on Tuesday.

The accident took place on May 19, 2024, when the minor was driving the car with no number plate while allegedly under the influence of alcohol. He was booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

On Tuesday, the Juvenile Justice Board rejected the police’s argument that the minor had committed a “heinous offence”, The Indian Express reported.

During the proceedings, the defence lawyer argued that the offence could not legally be deemed “heinous,” adding that the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Act aims to be “reformative” rather than “punitive”.

On the day of the crash, the Juvenile Justice Board in Pune had granted bail to the minor, directing him to write an essay and work with the traffic police for 15 days. These bail conditions had sparked widespread public outrage. The Pune board had then cancelled the minor’s bail order on May 22, 2024, and remanded him to an observation home.

On June 25, 2024, the Bombay High Court granted him bail and ordered that he should be placed under the care of his aunt.

In October, two members of the Juvenile Justice Board were dismissed for granting bail to the 17-year-old.

This came after the state Women and Child Development Department flagged alleged “procedural lapses, misconduct and non-compliance with norms” by the members – LN Danwade and Kavita Thorat.