[2017 Ryan International School Murder] Supreme Court grants interim bail to accused

The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim bail to the accused in the 2017 Ryan International School murder case. (Master Bholu vs CBI and anr).A Bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and JK Maheswari noted that the appellant's continued detention since November 2017 curtailed his liberties under the law. " ... fact of the matter remains that the liberty of the petitioner-appellant in the face of the accusations of the present case has been curtailed and for that matter, he is in detention for a period of one month less five years. Even while looking at the serious nature of the crime in question but without making any other comment on the merits of the case either way, the requirement of balancing the competing claims and equities cannot be ignored ... his continued detention until completion of the trial may carry its own adverse effects.".The interim relief was subject to conditions of remaining under the supervision of the probationary officer. The Court also ordered that the be expedited. .The plea filed through advocate Durga Dutt challenged the Punjab and Haryana High Court order declining bail to the accused even as the decision on whether the accused should be tried as an adult or not remains pending with the Juvenile Justice Board. The Supreme Court in July had ordered to examine afresh the unnamed juvenile accused in the 2017 murder of a 7-year-old at Ryan International School in Gurugram, Haryana to know if he has to be tried an adult or minor.The Juvenile Justice Board had subsequently filed a fresh assessment holding that he is to be tried as an adult. .The case dates back to September 2017, when a 2nd standard student of the school died due to injuries caused to his neck.Initially, the school bus conductor was apprehended by the police for confessing to slitting the throat of the 7-year-old. Later, when the matter was transferred to the CBI, the present accused, a 11th standard student, was arrested under the suspicion of murder. He has been in custody since November 7, 2017.A Gurugram District and Sessions Court had in March last year dismissed the bail plea filed by him.In December 2017, the Juvenile Justice Board had made a preliminary assessment that the accused should be tried as an adult, and his bail plea was, therefore, dismissed the following year. After a challenge to the same was dismissed by a Sessions Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court, another bail plea was filed that was dismissed by the Supreme Court (and relied on by the Gurgaon sessions court last year). The first appeal before the top court was a challenge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court order in 2018 remitting the matter to the Board for fresh consideration on how the juvenile has to be tried. .In today's hearing before the top court, Senior Advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, appearing for the accused, sought relief contending that he was a juvenile at the time, as per Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice Act.Counsel for the respondents, Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee and advocate Gaurav Kejriwal opposed the bail plea and said he may be apply for regular bail under Section 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Bench in its order kept the question of which of the two provisos would apply open, after observing it needs further hearing. It then proceeded to grant interim bail.[Read order].[Follow our live-coverage of the hearing]