- Introduction
Even a person who doesn’t follow the news regularly may have heard about the high-profile Pune Porsche Case which created national outrage when the accused, Vedant Agarwal, a 17-year-old teenager was given bail on lenient conditions, including a 300-word essay. The case is full of twists and turns which can be turned into a web series where people in power as well as the high-profile individuals such as doctors, hospital staff, forensics, police officials, and politicians are involved in trying to save the rich boy, which made a mockery of our justice system.
Even after all this happened, the juvenile was still released on lenient bail conditions, and citizens all over the nation raised questions such as: “Are the lives of those two IT professionals, who were killed due to the speeding Porsche car worth only a 300-word essay? Aren’t there stricter laws that will set an example for such future cases?
Here’s where the problem arises, there aren’t enough stricter laws when it comes to minors even those in the age group of 16 to 18 go scot-free due to this loophole. So does that mean any minor can drink and drive and kill any person without being punished?
Let’s unveil the legal gaps in our justice system.
- Main Body
The recent Porsche case highlights the various loopholes in the legal framework of our justice system particularly concerning juvenile offenders which are also called ‘Children in Conflict with law’. Also, it highlights the increasing fatalities in India due to road accidents that have become common.
Let’s see what happened which created such outrage in the society.
It was around 2.30 am when the 24-year-old IT professionals named Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta were returning home from a pub, riding a bike on Kalyani Nagar-Airport Road in Pune when suddenly a Porsche car, speeding over 200 kmph hit them from behind leading to their instant death. Fortunately, it was also recorded by a CCTV Camera which captured the gruesome killing. The person behind the wheel was a 17-year-and-eight-month-old boy, Vedant Agarwal who was drunk due to partying with his friends. Here, the age of the boy is to be noted as here’s where all the debate arises on “Whether Vedant should be treated as an adult or not?”
When the boy realized his crime, he tried running from the spot, but thanks to the vigilant citizens there, who caught hold of him and handed him over to the police with the hope that Justice would be served…
But little did they know, that the drunk rich boy would be released on bail within 15 hours after the accident by a vacation court as the court did not find the crime committed by that rich brat to be “serious”.
And if that wasn’t enough to invoke public outrage, the bail conditions put on the accused were even more infuriating. Two bonds of ₹ 7, 500 each and a 300-word essay on road safety were some of the bail conditions placed on the 17-year-old Pune boy. The case drew attention due to the juvenile’s affluent background and the political connections of Vedant’s family.
- Charges imposed on the Juvenile:
The juvenile was charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and also under the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) which include:
- Causing death by Negligence: The minor was charged under Section 304A of the IPC for causing death by negligence. As the punishment for this offence is less than seven years, thus the offence does not come in the “heinous” category of IPC. Hence, the juvenile cannot be tried as an adult according to the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.
- Driving under the influence of Alcohol: The minor was intoxicated while driving which constitutes an offence under Section 185 of the MVA. However, even this was tried to be covered by swapping the blood reports of the juvenile, thanks to the CCTV Camera which captured the teen and his friends consuming alcohol and later one of his friends also confessed the same.
- Driving without a License: As the boy was a minor, he did not possess a driving license at the time of the accident which violates Section 3 of the MVA.
- Driving at excessive speed: The juvenile rammed the bike with his Porsche car which was at a speed of over 200 kmph which is a clear violation of the speed limits prescribed by the MVA under Section 183.
- Others booked in this case include:
Vishal Agarwal, Surendra Agarwal, and Shivani Agarwal, who are the father, grandfather, and mother of the juvenile were also arrested along with various other high profile individuals such as the Head of the Forensic Medicine Department under various offences such as:
Criminal Conspiracy, Forgery, Destruction of evidence, etc.:
The juvenile’s blood sample was swapped with his mother’s for cover-up as they were aware of the fact that the blood reports would surely have traces of alcohol in them. The Head of the Forensic Medicine Department along with the Casualty Medical Officer of the government-run Sassoon General Hospital were arrested for manipulating the blood sample and discarding the blood sample in the dustbin. They were charged under Sections 120B (Criminal Conspiracy), 467 (Forgery), 201 (Destruction of Evidence), and other relevant sections of the IPC. This also raised several questions regarding the influence of power and money in bending the law to favour high-profile individuals.
- Legal Gaps
- Section 304A and Its Implications:
- Definition: Section 304A deals with offences where a person causes death due to negligence.
- Intention: Unlike other offences where a person intentionally commits the offense, this offense doesn’t involve the intention of the person to cause harm.
- Bail is the Rule: As the intention is missing in such cases, thus the principle of Bail is the Rule & Jail is the exception is applied. So, it is relatively easy to get bail in such cases even when such an act causes the death of a person. This is one major loophole through which many accused get away with the bail due to the lenient approach of the law in such cases.
- Punishment: The person charged under this section can be imprisoned for a term, which may extend to two years, with a fine or with both. The lenient punishment given in such cases is another cause behind increasing road accidents in India and this legal gap was highlighted in this case.
- Let’s dive into its severe implications:
In India, deaths caused by road accidents are shockingly rising and this claim is supported by government reports as well. A 2022 government report published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways revealed that 4, 61,312 road accidents were reported by states and union territories, which claimed 1,68,491 deaths and caused injuries to 4,43,366 persons. The number of road accidents in 2022 increased by 11.9% compared to 2021. This report highlights the urgent need for reforms in our legal framework to curb road accidents by addressing the factors that have increased it.
- The Underlying Issue
When it comes to laws, India is blessed with all the laws along with its detailed procedures given to us but most laws aren’t implemented well, this is a deep-rooted issue in our legal framework and this legal gap is exploited by many accused in getting away with the punishment for their actions. Despite several laws regulating the age for accessing alcohol or cigarettes, minors still frequently have access and also commit various offences due to it. But even then the laws are only implemented well after the public outrage and demand.
- Suggestions
- Legal Reforms & Recommendations
The Pune Porsche Case exposes several legal gaps in our legal framework, particularly concerning juvenile offenders and fatalities caused due to road accidents. Measures can be taken to prevent such accidents in the future and the following reforms are recommended in our laws:
- Stricter Traffic Laws along with Road Safety Education
The primary issue behind the shocking increase in road accidents is the lack of traffic laws pertaining of high-performance vehicles along with a lack of awareness regarding road safety and rules. These luxury cars are different than normal cars, so therefore the existing rules and regulations fail to regulate such vehicles effectively. The policymakers must address this issue by enacting or amending existing laws by specifying the speed limits for such luxury vehicles which must be implemented as well to bridge the gap which is existing in today’s legal framework, ensuring such vehicles are driven safely. Also, just enacting laws won’t solve the underlying issue, it can only be solved by creating public awareness regarding the importance of following traffic laws along with educating the children from the start regarding such issues as we all know that a 300-word essay will not teach or solve anything.
- Applying Technology for Law Enforcement
In today’s age, technology has played a major role in reforming many things, so why it’s not utilized in enforcing traffic laws? By utilizing speed cameras and automated traffic signals, it will be easier for the authorities to monitor and enforce the traffic regulations thereby effectively punishing the offenders.
- Juvenile Justice System
This case highlighted the inconsistencies involved in the Juvenile Justice System when handling serious cases. It is to be noted that the juvenile was initially given bail by a single non-judicial member of the Juvenile Justice Board since the other non-judicial member along with the Principal Magistrate were on leave. Later, the court gave bail to the minor, within 15 hours of the crime, that too on very lenient conditions which appeared as an insult to the families of the victims. Also, the reason for giving bail was that the court didn’t consider the crime committed by the juvenile to be “serious” enough. This raised the question: “What amount of severity in cases is ‘serious’ in the eyes of the Juvenile Court and if not the minor, who will take the accountability in such cases?” Isn’t justice meant to be served to people who plead before the courts? The whole nation asked this question in this tragic case.
Thus, the Juvenile System needs to be reformed to effectively serve justice to the people of India so that people don’t lose faith in the Law itself and resort to crime to get justice…
- Parental Responsibility
The tragic accident that took 2 innocent lives led to a series of twists and turns in the case which highlighted the bad parenting of the juvenile which was one of the major reasons behind the accident. If the parents of the child had been responsible and had not given such a luxurious car to their child, this whole tragic incident could have been prevented. But as said, it was a series of twists and turns, where the parents at every point of time tried evading the law by tampering with the evidence and also influenced the witnesses in the case, wherein the father was the Co-accused and the mother assisted in tampering the blood sample of the juvenile in an attempt to get away with the crime.
If every parent is responsible and understands the importance of fair parenting, then such cases can be prevented by working on the grass-root issue.
- Conclusion
The Pune Porsche Case exposed the several loopholes present in our legal framework which is hampering the efficacy of our Justice System. It highlighted the need for strict traffic laws and also the implementation of the existing laws which are missing in today’s time which led to public outrage in this case. It is high time that the justice system, be reformed by implementing stricter traffic laws, educating the public regarding its importance, utilizing technology for law enforcement, reforming the present Juvenile system, and also pointed the relevance of Parental responsibility in such cases. Implementing the above recommendations will strengthen our justice system, thereby addressing the issues that will create a safer and more responsible driving culture in India.
Authored by Merwyn Nazareth, Rizvi Law College, Mumbai University.
References
pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1973295
Pune Porsche Case: Loopholes in the Legal Framework of Our Justice System (thecourtroom.in)
Internet of smart-cameras for traffic lights optimization in smart cities – ScienceDirect
