Delhi court to hear Mercedes hit-and-run case today

A Delhi court will on Friday fixed hear the arguments on framing of charges against a teenager, who allegedly ran over a 32-year-old marketing executive while driving his father's Mercedes in New Delhi in April.

The court will also hear arguments on an appeal filed by the boy, who had turned major four days after the April 4 incident, challenging the Juvenile Justice Board's (JJB) order to try him as an adult.

The prosecutor had earlier argued that as per the amended provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, the sessions court cannot send back the case to the board and if it thinks that the boy should not be tried as an adult, it has to try the case itself by acting as the board's presiding officer.

In the appeal, the boy had claimed that at best he could be booked for alleged offence of causing death by rash and negligent act and it was not a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder for which he has been charged.

It said the boy's previous offences are of traffic violation and not related to accidents. So it's not a ground to convert section 304A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) into section 304 of the IPC.

The JJB had on June 4 ordered that the boy would face trial as an adult while observing that the offence allegedly committed by him was 'heinous'.

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.