Gurugram school murder: Court dismisses bail plea of teenage suspect

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, on Friday, dismissed the bail petition of a teenager accused of slitting the throat of a Class-2 student of a private school in Gurugram in September 2017. The father of the 18-year-old suspect, who was a juvenile at the time of the incident, had filed an application on March 3, seeking interim bail for his son so that he could take his Class-12 practical and theoretical examinations conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) between March and April.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, on Friday, dismissed the bail petition of a teenager accused of slitting the throat of a Class-2 student of a private school in Gurugram in September 2017.

The father of the 18-year-old suspect, who was a juvenile at the time of the incident, had filed an application on March 3, seeking interim bail for his son so that he could take his Class-12 practical and theoretical examinations conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) between March and April. The father had also stated that since his examination centre was in Nuh, an interim bail was necessary for his son to take the examinations. His bail petition was challenged by the counsel for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the victim’s family.

The counsel for the teenager argued that the suspect was already registered with the NIOS and that the institute had issued a letter intimating that the examination centre was in Nuh, where the practical examination has been scheduled for March 11 and 21.

After hearing the arguments of both sides, judge Arvind Singh Sangwan dismissed the bail application, stating that the teenager could appear for his exams in Karnal. “On the date of the practical and theory exams, the superintendent, Place of Safety, Karnal, would make the necessary arrangement to allow the suspect to reach the Jail centre, Karnal, one hour before conducting the exam, and after the exam is over, the petitioner may be taken back (sic),” stated the order.

The court further observed that the NIOS examination centre could be changed from Nuh to Karnal. A copy of the letter from NIOS is in possession of Hindustan Times.

The CBI counsel produced a letter dated March 5, issued by the director (evaluation), NIOS, that there is an examination centre in Karnal jail and that the centre could be changed to Karnal. This would enable the suspect to take the examination.

This was the 15th time that bail was denied to the teenaged suspect within the last 28 months. Earlier in May last year, he was shifted from an observation home in Faridabad to a Place of Safety in Madhuban, Karnal.

Sushil Tekriwal, counsel for the father of the victim, said that the suspect had approached the High Court at the eleventh hour to secure an interim bail on the ground of examination. “The teenager should not be granted a bail as the probe in the case is still pending and is at a crucial stage with witnesses yet to be examined. He may tamper with evidence and even intimidate or influence the witnesses. He may even try to abscond, which would hamper the course of the investigation,” he said.

The father of the victim said they have been demanding speedy trial but despite the passage of two years, the CBI has not been able to file the supplementary charge sheet for which the trial is unable to start.

Last year in September, the father of the suspect had filed a bail petition on medical grounds. He had stated that his son had lost weight and was not keeping well.

A medical examination was conducted by a board of doctors constituted by the civil surgeon of Karnal and his medical condition was found fit. On October 3 last year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had dismissed his bail application. Even earlier, the bail plea of the suspect was rejected by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), the sessions court of Gurugram, the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court.