The Pune Porsche crash, involving a drunk teenager, sparked nationwide outrage when a local court granted him bail within 15 hours of the tragic incident that claimed two lives. It was preposterous to let him off the hook on laughable bail conditions like asking him to write a 300-word essay on accidents, work with traffic police for 15 days, and undergo counselling for his drinking habit. Thankfully, the Justice Juvenile Board has now cancelled the bail and sent him to the Children Observation Centre till 5 June. The Pune police have justifiably demanded that the minor be treated as an adult during prosecution, given the serious nature of the crime.
If a person is capable of committing a heinous crime like raping a woman, he should be made to face the punishment for rape, irrespective of his age. There is no need to treat him as an adolescent just because he is yet to attain 18 years. When Nirbhaya was gangraped and thrown from a moving bus in New Delhi, the most cruel behaviour was that of an adolescent, who received only the maximum punishment of three years under the Juvenile Justice Act. Such a lenient approach amounts to a mockery of justice. In the Pune Porsche case, the teenager consumed liquor at a pub, drove a brand-new Porsche car, without a number plate, at a breakneck speed of over 200 kmph, and rammed into a bike from behind, killing the motorcyclist and the pillion rider, both young software professionals.