The Pune Porsche Case: Law and Realities of the Juvenile Justice System

Episode 26 of the 39A Podcast discusses the recent Pune Porsche case where a 17-year-old allegedly caused the death of two hapless victims while driving rashly and under the influence. The case has made waves in the media due to reports of preferential treatment and manipulation of evidence. However, the case also invokes questions of Juvenile Justice law which are largely unaddressed by mainstream media. In this podcast, Anup Surendranath converses with child rights experts— Bharati Ali, Swagata Raha and Mahesh Menon, who bring decades of experience with the juvenile justice system and analyse the legal and procedural aspects of juvenile justice in India. The discussion focuses on provisions for bail in the case of juvenile offenders, when can a child be tried as an adult, how the said determination is made, whether the mental capacity of the child can be determined, and the systemic issues in observation homes and places of safety. The conversation also delves into the more theoretical aspects of crime and punishment, and why there is a need to treat juvenile delinquents differently than adult offenders.