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Mercedes hit-and-run case: Juvenile accused to be tried as adult

The accused who was a minor at the time of the accident, turned 18 four days later.

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(Screen grab from CCTV ffotage of the accident)
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In an unprecedented move, the Juvenile Justice Board on Saturday allowed the Delhi Police's plea, asking to try the minor accused of running over 32-year-old Siddharth Sharma as an adult in a trial court. 

The Juvenile Justice board said in its order that the accused is in no manner lacking in mental and physical capacity to commit the alleged offence. The board also added that on the date of incident, the accused had the ability to understand the consequences of the offence.

"The conduct of accused before and after the incident clearly reflects that he understood of the offence alleged against him. Circumstances collectively indicate that accused was indifferent towards life and safety of other users of the road," said Juvenile Justice Board. 

Victim Siddharth Sharma's sister Shilpa Mittal said, "Juvenile was mentally healthy, he was aware of the consequences of driving fast. Children's court will start it from scratch. We know we won't get justice easily; fighting to set an example, that no one is above law."

The Delhi Police's application sought transfer of the case to a trial court to try as adult the boy, who turned major just four days after the April 4 incident. The Delhi Police had on May 26 chargesheeted the juvenile in the JJB for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder entails a maximum of 10 years jail. The accused has been termed a 'perpetual defaulter', as he had been fined thrice - twice for speeding and once for parking wrongly - last year. The police also chargesheeted the juvenile's father and the family driver in this case. The accused allegedly ran over Sharma with his Mercedes in north Delhi's Civil Lines area on April 4.

The Delhi sessions court upheld the order granting bail to the juvenile, saying it is for the JJB to decide how long the child has to be kept in the reform home. 

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