Ryan school murder: Accused juvenile to be tried as an adult

A sessions court on Monday ordered that the juvenile, accused of murdering a 7-year-old student, Pradyuman Thakur, at Gurugram's Ryan International School last year, be tried as an adult. Additional Sessions Judge Jasbir Singh Kundu junked the appeal of the student along with other two pleas in the Ryan school murder case, said reports.

"Child Sessions Court upheld judgement by Juvenile Justice Board that the juvenile be tried as an adult. He can be subjected to stringent & strict punishment, if he's going to get convicted. We welcome it," Sushil Tekriwal, lawyer of victim's family, told ANI.

Moving the application on November 15, seeking the trial of the juvenile as an adult, the victim's father argued that the manner in which the throat of the seven-year-old was slit showed that the crime was "chilling", "horrific" and "serious" in nature.

Judge Jasbir Singh Kundu, hearing a plea filed by the 16-year-old accused's family last week, had given the CBI one week additional time to file its supplementary chargesheet. The court also gave additional time to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit its supplementary charge-sheet.

Last year, on December 20, the Juvenile Justice Board had announced that the juvenile accused, a Class XI student, will be tried as an adult. The order was significant as it ensured that the boy, if convicted, will not serve the usual punishment of three years, as is the norm for juveniles. However, if found guilty, he will also not be given a harsher sentence, such as life imprisonment or death, as Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice Act prohibits it.

As per the new law, passed by the Parliament in January 2016, the juvenile if convicted could serve a maximum of 10 to 15 years behind bars.