Ryan murder case: No bail yet for teenager accused of killing Pradyuman

GURUGRAM: The Gurugram Sessions Court on Saturday reserved its order on bail plea filed by the teenager accused of killing Pradyuman Thakur. The hearing will now be held on January 8.

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

During the hearing, the defence counsel claimed the chargesheet in the matter was not filed within one month, as prescribed in the Juvenile Justice Act, and he was not given required documents.

The CBI, on the other hand, said, the mandatory period for filing a charge sheet is 90 days under CrPC provisions. CBI said that since the accused has been declared an adult by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), the "circumstances have changed", hence, the charge sheet needed to be filed within three months.

The CBI said the JJB order to try the accused as an adult spoke about his mental status and the fact that he committed a heinous crime. The court was hearing an appeal filed by the accused against an order of the JJB denying him bail.

The probe agency had claimed the teenager had killed Pradhuman in a bid to get the school closed so that a parent-teacher meeting and an examination could be deferred.

The JJB had on December 20 held that the teenager would be tried as an adult and directed that he be produced before the Gurgaon sessions court. The JJB had noted that the accused was mature enough to recognise the consequences of his actions.

If convicted, the accused will stay in a correctional home till he is 21 years old after which the court can shift him to a jail or grant him bail.

The board had earlier rejected the bail plea of the Class 11 Ryan International School student.

The 16-year-old student of  at Ryan International School in Gurugram has been accused of killing 7-year-old Pradhuman Thakur. Pradhuman was found with his throat slit in the school's washroom on September 8, 2017.

The Gurgaon Police had claimed the crime was committed by a school bus conductor, which was later refuted by the CBI.