New Delhi: In 2016, a juvenile, a few days away from attaining adulthood, ran his father’s Mercedes Benz car over a young man. The victim, 32-year-old marketing executive Siddharth Sharma, later died.
However, the Supreme Court on Thursday said that the accused will not serve even a day behind bars. He shall be tried as a juvenile and kept under observation, if and when pronounced guilty.
“We are not solving a jigsaw puzzle... we cannot add or substitute word in a law. When two interpretations are possible, the one in the benefit of juveniles has to be adopted," said a bench headed by Justice Deepak Gupta.
While reading out the operative part of the judgment, Justice Gupta said the alleged crime does not fall under the category of 'heinous' offence under the Juvenile Justice Act.
In 2016, a juvenile, a few days away from attaining adulthood, ran his father’s Mercedes Benz car over a young man. The victim, 32-year-old marketing executive Siddharth Sharma, later died.
However, the Supreme Court on Thursday said that the accused will not serve even a day behind bars. He shall be tried as a juvenile and kept under observation, if and when pronounced guilty.
“We are not solving a jigsaw puzzle... we cannot add or substitute word in a law. When two interpretations are possible, the one in the benefit of juveniles has to be adopted," said a bench headed by Justice Deepak Gupta.
While reading out the operative part of the judgment, Justice Gupta said the alleged crime does not fall under the category of 'heinous' offence under the Juvenile Justice Act.
