Ryan International School Murder: Supreme Court grants interim bail to accused in Gurugram school killing

A man who was only 16 years old when he is accused of killing a 7-year-old boy in a Gurugram private school was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on Thursday, three days after a juvenile justice board decided that the man would be tried in the case as an adult. The incident that shocked people in the nation’s capital occurred in 2017. According to a bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and J K Maheshwari, the accused may experience unfavourable effects from his continued custody until the end of the trial.

In light of this, the request for temporary relief is granted, and the petitioner-appellant will be released on bail subject to any limitations that the sessions judge in Gurugram may impose until further orders of this court. However, it is stated clearly that the petitioner-appellant must continue to be under the watchful eye of a probation officer or another person chosen by the session’s judge. Additionally, it is made plain that the petitioner and his parents are not permitted to interfere with the case’s trial and are not allowed to approach or speak with any of the witnesses, according to the bench.

According to the bench, the probation officer is free to report any shortcomings in the petitioner’s conduct to the sessions judge, who will then forward the information to the supreme court. The victim’s family’s attorney, Sushil Tekriwal, told PTI, “We will do all in our power to have the trial run quickly and not leave any stone unturned to get the conviction in the case.” The case will now be heard by the highest court in January 2023. On October 17, a juvenile justice board made the decision to have the accused tried in the case as an adult.

After consulting with experts to determine whether he, as a teenager at the time the crime was committed, comprehended the gravity of the offence and its repercussions, the JJB made the ruling. The adolescent allegedly killed his junior on September 8, 2017, according to the CBI’s charge sheet, in an effort to have the exams postponed and a scheduled parent-teachers meeting cancelled. The victim’s body, with its neck slit, was discovered in the school’s restroom in Gurgaon, Haryana’s Bhondsi neighbourhood. On September 22, 2017, the CBI took over the case from the Gurgaon police after a national outcry over the horrific murder.